Trouble in Triplicate - Reviews and Commentary

Reviews and Commentary

• Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime — A particularly good bunch of early shorts ... All three start with victims or potential victims—of murder chiefly, but also of blackmail. The plots and their unraveling by Wolfe and Archie are superior examples of art, with plenty of drama, humor, and exact reasoning.
• Beatrice Sherman, The New York Times Book Review (February 27, 1949) — "A Nero Wolfe Threesome" is the subtitle for this collection of mysteries. The opening situation in each story is that of a man who feels sure he is going to be killed and wants to pay Wolfe handsomely to stave off the evil day — permanently, if possible. Wolfe refuses to set his nimble brain, his bulky body or his trusted aide, Archie, working on such cases. The odds against a determined murderer are too long. Mr. Wolfe would rather devote himself to his orchids. As it turns out, Wolfe and Archie are drawn into the thick of all three cases, and solve them by playing their usual fast-and-loose game of cooperation with the police. Lovely going all the way, but not the Nero Wolfe-Archie team at its best.
• The New Republic (February 7, 1949) — Nero Wolfe and Archie have never been in better form than they show in these three novelettes. Exciting action interesting characters and lively dialogue furnish an evening of solid pleasure.
• Saturday Review of Literature (February 19, 1949) — Nero Wolfe and his ineffable henchman Archie perform through three "novellas" of crime and caustic conversation. First appearance in book form of tales that have even more pungency and punch than recent book-length adventures of precious Manhattan duo. Very good.
• J. Kenneth Van Dover, At Wolfe's Door, on the novella "Before I Die" — Wolfe contrives to execute justice. The murderer's indictment and trial might cause an emotional strain on an innocent person. Therefore, Wolfe sets up the situation resulting in the justifiable homicide. Wolfe's aside regarding lawyers — "They are inveterate hedgers. They think everything has two sides, which is nonsense" — points to a basic appeal of the detective genre: its commitment to a clearcut morality to which evil-doing is inexcusable and retribution is unapologetic. Wolfe also argues that the wishes of gangsters are as much entitled to respect as are those of "an oil marauder or a steel bandit."