Nero Wolfe’s latest client is a Wall Street engineering firm where a rumor is circulating about the death of a former employee. The authorities are satisfied that the death was an accidental hit-and-run, yet a member of the firm insists the man was intentionally murdered. Archie goes undercover in the firm to find out if the rumor is true. It’s a perplexing case that almost stumps Wolfe, until a last-ditch effort flushes out the truth.

This book was less satisfying than most of the other series books I’ve read to date, mainly because so many elements of the murder were withheld until an information dump at the end of the book. Wolfe usually figures out what must have happened before the police or anyone else has a glimmer of understanding, and then he collects the evidence that proves it. In this case, Wolfe spent most of his time trying to persuade suspects/witnesses to tell him what they know, and he was less impressive than I’ve come to expect. ( )

3.5*

2018 review of audiobook edition:
It was a lot of fun listening to Archie's encounters with the many young women in engineering firm Naylor-Kerr. While I certainly was not able to figure out the culprit before Wolfe, I thought that this one didn't show off Wolfe's personality as well as some of the other books in the series.

Michael Pritchard does a decent narration and his voice for Nero Wolfe is particularly good. ( )

I was introduced to Nero Wolfe through the amazing Nero Wolfe A&E series, so I see Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin, et al. So, after a hiatus of several years, I got a hold of And Be a Villain and liked it, so I decided to get them all so I could read them in order (from 1934 to 1975).

This one is number 12: Too Many Women. Always in need of money, big spending Nero Wolfe, the team takes on a possible case at another of those big businesses that could only really exist in New York City. Whacky characters, wise-talking femmes, Archie getting some (implied) action, Wolfe finally figuring things out. A pretty good one. ( )

Too Many Women (1947) (Nero Wolfe #12) by Rex Stout. Wolfe is hired by an engineering supply company to look into a hit and run death of one of their employees. It happened four months prior and the police have yet to solve it, nor are they likely to. But the son of one of the founders, now a senior exec in charge of a large department, has made a claim of murder. It is up to Wolfe, meaning Archie Goodwin, to prove or deny the claim.
Archie is sent undercover into the headquarters to discover if there is anything to back up the claim. Headquarters consist of two entire floors of executives and secretaries that run the paper operation of this international corporation. Expecting something very different, Archie is faced with a reality of having to talk with hundreds of typists, all female (remember this is in the 1940’s) and each seemingly more attractive than the last. What’s a poor boy to do.
The grapevine works swift and sure about the office halls and Archie’s cover is soon blown, as well as the truth to his mission. That makes it both easier and harder to discover the truth. The investigation seems to be going nowhere until Wolfe comes up with a devious ploy, but only after another hit and run occurs, with details that match the first car assault almost perfectly
This is a slick little outing wherein Archie gets to live out some of his fantasies. Some of the story is fluff, but the mystery is well played and the characters well drawn. The reasons for everything are explained and again Wolfe earns his massive fees.
Not the top of the heap of Wolfe stories, but better than 95% of what was being offered at the time. I find reading Rez Stout’s work is like watching one of those great old New York City movies. You get the grit and feel of the city and its peoples, mostly in Black & White, but with splashes of color thrown in to keep it interesting.
And the dialog is just dandy. ( )

It was the same old rigmarole. Sometimes I found it amusing; sometimes it only bored me; sometimes it gave me a pronounced pain, especially when I had had more of Wolfe than was good for either of us.

This time it was fairly funny at first, but it developed along regrettable lines. Mr. Jasper Pine, president of Naylor-Kerr, Inc., 914 William Street, down where a thirty-story building is a shanty, wanted Nero Wolfe to come to see him about something. I explained patiently, all about Wolfe being too big and fat, and too much of a genius, to let himself be evoked.