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By 1950, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe was a mainstream hit character and his 16th novel, Three Doors to Death, marked 16 years since the debut of his delightful series of tales of orchids, gourmet food, murders and a little sleuthing, all narrated wryly by Wolfe's side-kick Archie Goodwin. For this book, three novellas are included, each of which had appeared in "The American Magazine" in separate issues in 1947, 1948 and 1949.
Man Alive is about a fashion designer who has apparently commited suicide by jumping, naked, into a geyser at Yellowstone Park. His niece, set to inherit half of an upscale women's clothing fashion store, and herself a budding designer, brings in Wolfe when she thinks she sees her uncle very much alive a year later. For Omit Flowers, Wolfe is invoked by an old friend whose own friend is a chef charged with murder. But there are too many members of the family restaurant chain the accused worked for who stand to gain from his being put out of the way ... was this an inside job? Finally, Door to Death finds Wolfe outside his home with possibly the only thing that could lure him past his front door: orchids, and the need to find a new man to tend his collection whilst Theodore Horstmann, his own orchid man, is unavailable. Alas, Wolfe's preferred orchid tender alternative has just been charged with the murder of his fiancée ... she was poisoned in a nursery.
Fun stories; I enjoyed Man Alive the best. There were a few more typos than I'd like to see for a so-called commercial effort. "FU" appears a few times in place of what Rex Stout wrote: "I'll". Sigh. Recommended in any case and a no brainer for anyone who is already hooked on Stout.
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