The Golden Spiders

I’m not sure why I don’t read more mysteries than I do since when I do pick up one I generally enjoy them.   Unlike my normal book reading experience I encounter mystery authors more via television and movies causing me to go back to the source. Mrs. Marple, Lord Peter Wimsey, etc were long my favorites before picking up and enjoying the books even more. Another case in point was the A&E series Nero Wolfe based on Rex Stout’s fictional detective.  I just loved everything about that series from the stories, the characters and the actors who portrayed them.  It’s cancelation was just another of those crimes of the universe.  So I kept meaning to get around to reading the books.

Since I follow one of the blogs that report Amazon book deals I was happy to see The Golden Spiders (Nero Wolfe Mysteries) was on sale and picked it up. I think I admire the television show even more now since they so accurately translated the characters and this book was used as the base for one of the episodes. At a little over just 200 pages it was taught from beginning to end.  The story is mainly written through the character of Nero Wolfe’s assistant Archie Goodwin whose wise-cracking and pushing the temperament of his boss provides some fun and in the case of this story kicked off events.  I am not sure why it is that quirky detectives are so fun as if they intellectual acumen must be tempered by personality quirks to make them more human.  Nero Wolfe certainly has quirks galore, but it adds to the stories especially when these personality flaws are pushed and he has to respond to a situation he is not comfortable in.

After reading the book I looked up the Wikipedia entry on Rex Stout and his biography is rather interesting with tidbits like having read the Bible twice by the time he was four.  Though I am not sure I was was overjoyed or overwhelmed to find that he wrote more than 70 Nero Wolfe books.

And speaking of Amazon Kindle deals I also noticed On Conscience (Bioethics & Culture) by then-Cardinal Ratzinger was on sale at a good price and took advantage of that.