Please Pass the Guilt

By: Rex Stout

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

A brilliant Rex Stout murder mystery featuring Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin

A bomb explodes in the desk drawer of a top TV executive. Was it intended for him or the man who opened the drawer? They each had enemies enough to die a dozen times over. Was it the jealous wife or the ambitious partner? The secretary who got passed around like an inter-office memo? Or the man who couldn’t wash the blood off his hands? 

Nero Wolfe didn’t want any part of it - but he was up to his neck in the toughest case of his career! 

“It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore.” (The New York Times Book Review)

Stout fellow: listen to all of our Nero Wolfe mysteries, including classic radio programs!

©1973 Rex Stout (P)1999 Books on Tape Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe make a combination that is hard to beat." (The New York Times)

Nero was stumped!

I always enjoy a Nero Wolf story. This time everyone kept coming up clueless. I don't ever remember seeing such a time when there was nothing, our great detectives, his men, the police, all dispondent. Then a lie was told, it opened the stale thinking up and let the light in. What a change in Nero's persona. The reader has the tone and voices down perfectly. Archie and Nero especially, just come to life!

Classic Nero Wolfe

Would you consider the audio edition of Please Pass the Guilt to be better than the print version?

I always listen to Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novels instead of reading them with my eyes. I just enjoy the experience of listening and Michael Prichard does all the voices perfectly. I can see each character clearly in my mind. My plan is to eventually listen to the whole series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I adore Archie. He's smart and handsome and is perfect for keeping neurotic Nero Wolfe honest.

Which scene was your favorite?

There's a great scene where Archie is interviewing the victim's wife but she's engrossed in the middle of a baseball game on tv. The questions and answers come in between plays and you feel like you are sitting there watching the game with them.

I didn't care for this Nero Wolfe at all.

Would you try another book from Rex Stout and/or Michael Prichard?

I usually love Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin!

Has Please Pass the Guilt turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but this is a departure from the usual Wolfe.

Which character – as performed by Michael Prichard – was your favorite?

Archie Goodwin

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappoinment

Love

love how M.P. narrates! Great story as they usually are, just wish the ending went further! It's always hard to end a good book, but the ending was more blunt than I'm used to.

my least favorite Wolfe novel

this is just too long and convoluted. too much time is spent discussing and confronting. it is boring!

Light mystery with substance

An enjoyable listen to a masters craft as Rex Stout weaves enjoyable characters, dialouge & plot.

great dialogue!

loved it. at times I laughed and other times I rewound it so I could hear again because the plot was so intricate. a real page-turner inaudible parlance

Decent Nero

Well done Nero. This is for fans of Nero Wolf who like variations on a theme, a very good theme. Listeners like us. We would read (listen to) all of them if we could find them on Audible. This one has an exceptionally satisfying ending