4/9/22

An unusual book in that it is written by Rex Stout, but does not feature his famous detective Nero Wolfe. Set in the mountain town of Cody, Wyoming, the story opens with 20-year-old Delia Brand purchasing a box of .38 bullets, and telling the clerk she intends to shoot a man. When philandering businessman Dan Jackson is murdered shortly after, Delia is promptly arrested.

Not the greatest book in the detective genre, but I liked the western setting. It is very old-fashioned, with all the men rough-and-tough types - either corrupt, using their money to buy justice or prevent justice from being done, trying to keep their jobs or get re-elected (county sheriffs) and some are just plain dumb. The women are pushed around, but are not weak "women in jeopardy" types such as you find in Mignon Eberhardt books. These gals can stand up for themselves and fight back. I enjoyed the book and will keep it for my vintage mystery collection. ( )

This is NOT a Nero Wolfe novel!! Very poorly written story about murders in a Wyoming town. The writing is stilted, dialog poorly executed, and character development non-existant, BUT there are hints of Nero here: fairly good mystery design and a few "Archie-type" observations. ( )

Fairly poor.

Perhaps I'm unfair; but I hope no one judges Stout by this. It's adequate. It is not worth reading.

(Note: This is an extra-series title, not part of the far-superior Nero Wolfe canon.) ( )