Black Orchids (Nero Wolfe)

This is one of my favorite Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout. Whether you like gardening or not, you'll love this story.

Lovely plotting, great characters, fun to read about NY City in the 1940's. Very civilized and charming stories.

I am hooked on Rex Stout's. Nero Wolfe books. They're all filled with great writing, immensely interesting characters and wonderful dialogue - not to mention intriguing mysteries. Maybe because these two are shorter than usual, or for some other reason I myself cannot pin down, but I found these to be just a a little bit different than those previous novels . But different in a most enjoyable way. I can't recommend these highly enough! On to the next one!

Black Orchids: It is a wonderful read! I believe everything that is done in this mystery could happen in real life. Having been to more than one flower show with all types of flower Enthusiasts: I know how excentric they are to all others. They are true Prima Donas. However, I do know Black Orchids. I love them, You do have to be careful with Orchids. Sometimes the fragrance can be overpowering. They are beautiful. We already know that in the second story with Chimps running around, that today, you are more likely to run into a Tiger, Lion or maybe a Polar Bear. People are eccentric, and place others in dangerous situations. I felt for the characters. I had not thought that such behavior would be shown to be a Hostess with the Most. Wonderful!

These are lumped together because of the orchids. Wolfe was determined to obtain these plants that belonged to Mr. Hewett, another orchid grower. In Black Orchids a death occurs at the flower show where Mr. Hewett has the orchids on display, and Wolfe's fee for saving him from a murder charge is all three of the plants. There aren't many clues, but Wolfe is able to determine who the murderer is. There is a big surprise at the conclusion. In Cordially Invited to Meet Death a woman hires Wolfe to find out who is trying to ruin her reputation. However, she dies before he has a chance to get very far in his investigation. He sends a flower arrangement of eight black orchids to her funeral and tells Archie he is finished because he no longer has a client. Archie is unable to let it go and continues to look for clues to the murder. Ultimately, Wolfe is able to identify the killer before Inspector Cramer is able to serve a warrant to hold Wolfe and Archie as material witnesses. Both are good mysteries and I highly recommend this book.

By Red Stout. Two mysteries, Black Orchids and Cordially Invited To Death. I liked the first story better than the second but they were both good and a fun way to spend an afternoon

Black Orchids contains two excellent novellas that feature one-of-a-kind black orchids. They both involve murder. The first tells about how Wolfe obtained the only specimens in existence of the black orchids while solving the murder of a young man during a flower show. (Yes! He actually left the brownstone and went to the show.) The second is about the murder of a party organizer which didn't at first appear as such. Both are well plotted and delights to read. (I wish that Rex Stout had written more of them.)

Haven't read all of the Nero Wolfe books yet, but I'm working on it. I downloaded this book because I like the "novellas" that are two or more stories in one book. WARNING...If you have already read "Cordially Invited to Meet Death" DO NOT buy this book. It has two stories and one of them is "Cordially..." Kind of a let down. As far as the first story, "Black Orchids" is concerned, it's a bit on the dark side, and a bit bothersome (I won't spoil it for those who haven't read this). Not the best I've read so far, but I've loved the books I read prior to this one, and hopefully, those that follow will be better. I wish they had mentioned both of the titles of the books before I bought it.

Both of these long novella’s are really good stories. Highly recommended.

Another excellent book by Rex Stout. The first story is a particularly good read. The second has a chimpanzee who sadly doesn't get enough of a part.

自分のほしいものを手に入れたいとなったらネロ・ウルフを止められる者はいない。 アーチーに三日連続黒いランの展示場へ行かせて、説明が要領を得ないためついに自身が乗り出すこととなる。 実物が気に入ったとなるとお世辞、追従おかまいなし。アーチーもあまりのことにあきれてしまうが、殺人事件の犯人に利用されてしまうこととなる。現場で遭遇した女性を自宅にかくまうが、その夜の食事にはあの「saucisse minuit」（ソーシス・ミニュイ）が登場する。「Too many cooks」でウルフが今回同様開発者から手に入れたものだ。食事はしたくないと言っていた女性がソーセージを7個も食べてしまうのだからよほどの味と思われる。アーチーも本文の中でフリッツのソーシス・ミニュイはガンジーをもグルメにするだろうと書いている。 しかし、最終的に犯人を特定するためにウルフがとった手段は社会的に許されるものであったのだろうか？ もう一つの事件「Cordially Invited to Meet Death」ではウルフは亡くなった依頼人の葬儀に世に二つとない黒いランを5本も送っている。依頼料も入らないのにである。アーチーも最後に色々と推理しているが、謎は謎のまま残される。 それよりも驚かされるのはウルフが女性に体を触れさせるだけではなく、腕を組むことすら許してしまうことだ。 「corned beef hash」（南部訛りでは「cawned beef ha-a-sh」と聞こえるらしい）の作り方であるヒントを授けてくれるのだが、ウルフが今まで思いつかなかった方法であったため、えらくその女性が気に入ったようだ。 事件が解決（やや悲しい結末）したあとウルフのキッチンで繰り広げられる光景を見たアーチーがやけくそとなって家を飛び出し、近所の食堂でぼやくエンディングはなぜかほっとする結末となっている。

Black Orchids Taschenbuch Bantam reissue / June 1992 Billiges Papier, dunkelgraue Schrift statt schwarzer, trotzdem scheint die Schrift der Rückseite durch. Naja, billig eben - ABER: viel zu wenig Randleiste, die Schrift verschwindet im Bug! Wer bitte soll das lesen können? Soll ich die Seiten einzeln herausreissen?

You can read why these books have been made into radio and television programmes, the fun touches and comedy comes through the pages