The Best Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Robert Goldsborough

Praised by The New York Times as having “all of [Stout’s] stylistic mannerisms down pat,” Goldsborough has gifted readers with a Nero Wolfe mystery centering around Archie Goodwin’s friend Lily Rowan, who becomes concerned about her best friend Maureen—an elegant socialite who has been missing for two weeks. This is very unlike her friend, so knowing that something is wrong, Lily enlists the help of Archie Goodwin. 

Finding zero leads after contacting Maureen’s suitors and searching her abandoned penthouse, Archie tries to locate Maureen’s estranged half-brother with no luck. As this mystery becomes messier, Nero Wolfe steps in and offers his expertise. And they’re going to need it because this missing-person debacle has just become a murder case! 

Leaving the big city behind, Archie heads to Ohio after receiving an upsetting phone call from his Aunt Edna, who is growing increasingly suspicious after the president of Farmer’s State Bank and Trust—an elderly widower—died in an apparent suicide. After someone tries to shoot a local reporter covering the case, it becomes apparent that Aunt Edna may be leery for good reason. Archie must untangle the web of scandals that may have led to a murder in this small town rampant with gossip, all while trying to reconnect with his mother.  

When Nero Wolfe’s orchid gardener stumbles through the door of the detective’s brownstone, so badly beaten that he soon succumbs to a coma, Archie Goodwin puts aside his disdain for the man to go undercover on Wolfe’s behalf. Soon, it becomes clear that whoever was chasing after Theodore Horstmann was after more than fertilizer tips...

When indulging any new character obsession, starting at the beginning and working your way out from there might be the most rewarding route. Murder in E Minor is Goldsborough’s first Nero Wolfe mystery, in which Wolfe comes out of retirement to investigate a series of threatening letters received by an old associate. This ambitious and highly skillful first effort at advancing Nero Wolfe's story landed Goldsborough the prestigious Nero Award.

Sweeping readers away to 1920s New York, Archie Meets Nero Wolfe is an origin story about how the beloved characters Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe came to meet. Referred to as simply “excellent” by Publishers Weekly, this is a necessary stop on the long-distance train ride through the lives and adventures of Wolfe and the man who would become his most trusted assistant and companion for so many years.

Excited to spend a fun day at the ballpark at a Dodgers-Giants game, Archie Goodwin and Saul Panzer are stunned when New York state senator Orson Milbank is shot dead by a sniper hiding amongst the baseball fans. Nero Wolfe wants to sit this game out, but Archie Goodwin doesn’t mind stepping up to the plate, especially after meeting the senator’s suspiciously sweet widow. Will Goodwin strike out or find the ballpark killer? 

Advertising firm Mills/Lake/Ryman is at the top of its game, and has excelled at keeping Cherr-o-key soda a household brand through snappy, memorable slogans. When rival brand AmeriCherry starts featuring slogans a little too close to their own, the company brings in Nero Wolfe to figure out who’s being paid to leak company secrets to the enemy. Seems like an open and shut case, until advertising agents start getting murdered.

For years, Nero Wolfe has had a smooth, unofficial working relationship with Lon Cohen, head of the New York Gazette. Cohen supplies Wolfe with much-needed information that he wouldn’t otherwise be privy to. In exchange, Wolfe gives Cohen’s paper dibs on a big scoop here and there. When the paper hits a financial slump and is in danger of being bought out by a newspaper magnate looking to turn it into a trashy tabloid, Wolfe steps in to help. As is so often the case with Wolfe, the situation quickly spins out of control and turns deadly.

Lily Rowan’s niece, Noreen, has been hanging around with bad boy Sparky Linville. Until one night, Noreen comes home and confides in her aunt that she has been assaulted. Archie Goodwin won’t stand idly by as someone he cares for gets hurt, so he decides to confront Linville but is stopped by Linville’s bodyguard. The next day, Linville is found dead and Goodwin is understandably in hot water. Now it’s Nero Wolfe’s turn to protect his assistant from being wrongfully indicted.   

Prescott University is kept tidily under the thumb of ultra-conservative Hale Markham. Though he isn’t widely liked, university officials are shocked when Markham’s body is discovered at the bottom of a ravine on campus. When Wolfe catches wind of the death, he’s so eager to piece the puzzle together himself that he actually leaves his house, which says a lot about this mystery’s appeal.

Thousands of congregants come to hear the sermons of Barnabas Bay at the Tabernacle of the Silver Spire. There is no questioning that the Reverend’s influence and fame are far-reaching, but when intimidating notes begin appearing in the weekly collection bag, it becomes evident that one of his loyal sheep is truly a wolf in disguise. Weary of organized religion, Nero Wolfe recommends veteran investigator Fred Durkin for the case. But after Durkin is suspected of killing the Reverend’s assistant, Wolfe puts his feelings aside to help his colleague and friend in need.  

No one would have anticipated that author Charles Childress’s story would end like this. His friends know that the arrogant writer would never have pulled his own trigger, especially since his new mystery book was starting to gain attention. Consequently, Childress’s publisher hires Wolfe and Goodwin to figure out who is really responsible for his murder—a plot twist no one saw coming!   

Nero Wolfe has come across many perilous situations during his career as a detective, but not until now has danger hit so close to home. When his assistant Archie Goodwin is nearly gunned down one night while walking home from a poker game, Wolfe takes the attempted hit very seriously, and sets out to make sure that the gunman doesn’t get a second shot in.

Lon Cohen of the New York Gazette suspects that someone wants to kill the Gazette’s gossip columnist, Cameron Clay, who doesn’t have a shortage of enemies and death threats due to the disparaging articles he writes for his job. When someone finally makes those death threats a reality, Wolfe and Goodwin are entrusted with the murder case—a case that is still being deemed a suicide by police. With five potential suspects, the detective and assistant duo must figure out who was angry enough to finally make good on their deadly promise.        

A celebrated theater director has a hunch that someone is out to do him harm. In an effort to get Nero Wolfe interested in his case, he bends Wolfe’s ear by offering him something he can’t resist: a very rare orchid to add to his prized collection. When the director ends up dead anyway, and Archie is flagged as a prime suspect, Wolfe’s life goes from sweet-smelling to foul pretty quick. Without the help of Goodwin, who is unable to investigate the case due his own unfortunate involvement in it, Wolfe steps carefully through a messy trap of clues to right what’s wrong.

After Lester Pierce, a wealthy reformer, is fatally shot, his death forces the NYPD to restructure its homicide department, temporarily relieving Inspector Lionel Cramer of his badge. But Cramer might not be an innocent victim—he was seen having a meal with Mob kingpin Ralph Mars. Not wanting to work with Cramer’s replacement, Nero Wolfe takes on the case for his own benefit despite not having a client and having to reluctantly leave his brownstone.

The night after an art exhibition at the new Guggenheim Museum, art collector Arthur Wordell is said to have jumped out the window of his 20-story office building. Was Arthur's reluctance to share his art collection with the museum connected with his apparent suicide? His beloved daughter Nadia thinks so, and after learning of Arthur’s long list of enemies, including an artist eager to have her work displayed in the “Guggie,” Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin believe there is a definite connection as well. But Arthur never left a will, so no one seems to be particularly benefiting from his death. Can Wolfe get to the bottom of this artful crime?