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Nero Wolfe #24
The Black Mountain
When Marko Vukcic, one of Nero Wolfe's closest friends, is gunned down in cold blood, the great detective takes it personally, pledging to do everything in his considerable power to bring the killer to justice. But Wolfe's reckless vow draws him to the most lethal case of his career, propelling the portly P.I. and his faithful factotum, Archie Goodwin, four thousand miles across the ocean to the hazardous mountains of Montenegro. Communist cutthroats and Albanian thugs have already disposed of Wolfe's friend and Wolfe's adoptive daughter . . . now they're targeting the world-famous detective himself.
213 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 14, 1954
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833 people want to read
About the author
Rex Stout
833 books1,030 followersRex Todhunter Stout (1886–1975) was an American crime writer, best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 (Fer-de-Lance) to 1975 (A Family Affair).
The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon 2000, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.
The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon 2000, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 287 reviews
August 29, 2019
An essential for all Nero Wolfe fans.
Wolfe's best friend the restauranteur Marko Vukic is murdered, and Wolfe must leave not only his brownstone but the U.S.A. itself in order to catch the killer. He and Archie journey to Montenegro, Wolfe and Marko's native land, and it's a treat to see Wolfe hiking in the mountains with a knife taped to his leg.
Also, this mystery presents an interesting formal problem. Not "whodunit"--we know the identity of the murderer--but a "how-do-it": how to get the "who" back into the United states for a murder trial.
December 4, 2021
This story takes place circa 1954 -
(Goodwin) "“I may be a little vague, but it looks as if we have three choices. One, stay here and get nowhere. Two, go home and forget it. Three, go to Montenegro and get killed. I have never seen a less attractive batch to pick from.”
(Wolfe) “Neither have I.”"
The author, Rex Stout, wrote many other Nero Wolfe stories before this one. There is a reason in that factoid not to make this your first Wolfe read.
Those familiar with the massive detective know that he usually disdains the effort to get in and out of his chair, reach for the phone or use anything but his residence elevator to visit his orchids. That pattern of behavior persists for almost the entire universe of Wolfe stories, except for this one.
Marko Vukcic is one of Nero Wolfe's closest friends and the owner of Rusterman’s, one of the very few restaurants that Wolfe will leave his house for. Vukcic and Wolfe share a bond that reaches back to their youth in Montenegro. (In case, it isn’t obvious, Black Mountain is the translation of Montenegro.) When Vukcic is assassinated – gunned down in cold blood – Wolfe is not only saddened but distraught, and determined to bring the killer to justice.
It is this factor that makes Wolfe forego the comforts of his brownstone and includes a trip back to the place of his birth, where he fought for his country’s freedom.
"Wolfe was not taking it like a man. I had expected him to quit being eccentric about vehicles, since he had decided to cross an ocean and a good part of a continent, and relax, but there was no visible change in his reactions. In the taxis he sat on the front half of the seat and gripped the strap, and in the planes he kept his muscles tight. Apparently it was so deep in him that the only hope would be for him to get analyzed, and there wasn’t time for that. Analyzing him would take more like twenty years than twenty hours."
More an adventure than a mystery, this book was notable for Stout’s giving his readers a much more complete picture of the detective.
Rating 3.5*
(Goodwin) "“I may be a little vague, but it looks as if we have three choices. One, stay here and get nowhere. Two, go home and forget it. Three, go to Montenegro and get killed. I have never seen a less attractive batch to pick from.”
(Wolfe) “Neither have I.”"
The author, Rex Stout, wrote many other Nero Wolfe stories before this one. There is a reason in that factoid not to make this your first Wolfe read.
Those familiar with the massive detective know that he usually disdains the effort to get in and out of his chair, reach for the phone or use anything but his residence elevator to visit his orchids. That pattern of behavior persists for almost the entire universe of Wolfe stories, except for this one.
Marko Vukcic is one of Nero Wolfe's closest friends and the owner of Rusterman’s, one of the very few restaurants that Wolfe will leave his house for. Vukcic and Wolfe share a bond that reaches back to their youth in Montenegro. (In case, it isn’t obvious, Black Mountain is the translation of Montenegro.) When Vukcic is assassinated – gunned down in cold blood – Wolfe is not only saddened but distraught, and determined to bring the killer to justice.
It is this factor that makes Wolfe forego the comforts of his brownstone and includes a trip back to the place of his birth, where he fought for his country’s freedom.
"Wolfe was not taking it like a man. I had expected him to quit being eccentric about vehicles, since he had decided to cross an ocean and a good part of a continent, and relax, but there was no visible change in his reactions. In the taxis he sat on the front half of the seat and gripped the strap, and in the planes he kept his muscles tight. Apparently it was so deep in him that the only hope would be for him to get analyzed, and there wasn’t time for that. Analyzing him would take more like twenty years than twenty hours."
More an adventure than a mystery, this book was notable for Stout’s giving his readers a much more complete picture of the detective.
Rating 3.5*
November 27, 2021
Anyone familiar with Nero Wolfe knows that he rarely leaves his brownstone on West 35th Street in New York City. On the rare ocassions he does it usually revolves around food (e.g. Too Many Cooks) or orchids (e.g. Some Buried Caesar). Even then it requires goading from his confidential assistant, Archie Goodwin.
Everything changes when Wolfe's friend Marko Vukic is murdered. Wolfe doesn't just leave his brownstone ... where his meals are prepared by his personal chef Fritz Brenner and he spends parts of his day with his orchids ... he leaves the country. He heads to Montenegro which requires getting on several different planes. Wolfe is the man who doesn't trust machinery and will only let Archie drive him in a car ... when absolutely necessary. Wolfe has vowed to bring the man who murdered his friend to justice.
Wolfe is willing to go any length and endure any hardship in this quest. Not only does he get on planes but he sleeps in a haystack and in a cave. In other stories it is Archie who ventures out and reports back to Wolfe. Once out of the United States Archie is lost. He doesn't speak the language. Even during a stopover in England he has a hard time understanding the announcements on the loud speaker. In this story he plays the part of Wolfe's son and is dependent on Wolfe reporting to him.
We get to know more about Nero Wolfe's background and visit his birthplace. Who would have guessed that he herded goats in his youth? As a fan of the series I found it interesting and at times amusing. It is a bit dated (aren't they all?). It was first published in 1954 during the Cold War and when Tito ruled Yugoslav. If you are a fan of Nero Wolfe and want to learn more about his origins this is the book where you can learn that. Plus it was a bit of fun to see Archie dependent on Wolfe to know what was happening.
Everything changes when Wolfe's friend Marko Vukic is murdered. Wolfe doesn't just leave his brownstone ... where his meals are prepared by his personal chef Fritz Brenner and he spends parts of his day with his orchids ... he leaves the country. He heads to Montenegro which requires getting on several different planes. Wolfe is the man who doesn't trust machinery and will only let Archie drive him in a car ... when absolutely necessary. Wolfe has vowed to bring the man who murdered his friend to justice.
Wolfe is willing to go any length and endure any hardship in this quest. Not only does he get on planes but he sleeps in a haystack and in a cave. In other stories it is Archie who ventures out and reports back to Wolfe. Once out of the United States Archie is lost. He doesn't speak the language. Even during a stopover in England he has a hard time understanding the announcements on the loud speaker. In this story he plays the part of Wolfe's son and is dependent on Wolfe reporting to him.
We get to know more about Nero Wolfe's background and visit his birthplace. Who would have guessed that he herded goats in his youth? As a fan of the series I found it interesting and at times amusing. It is a bit dated (aren't they all?). It was first published in 1954 during the Cold War and when Tito ruled Yugoslav. If you are a fan of Nero Wolfe and want to learn more about his origins this is the book where you can learn that. Plus it was a bit of fun to see Archie dependent on Wolfe to know what was happening.
June 4, 2018
Attenzione Attenzione: Nero Wolfe è uscito di casa!!!!
Un nuovo giallo, un delitto di un caro amico portano questa volta il famigerato Wolfe a lasciare la sua abitazione e a viaggiare fra taxi, aerei, scarpinando a piedi per tutto il Montenegro. Poco credibile che una persona della sua stazza, che non è facile alle passeggiate fuori casa, riesca a muoversi con tale agilità su montagne impervie, anche se conosciute a menadito perché luoghi della sua infanzia. Certo è che questa montagna di grasso in pigiama giallo e copriletto di seta nero fa sempre piacere incontrarla!
Un nuovo giallo, un delitto di un caro amico portano questa volta il famigerato Wolfe a lasciare la sua abitazione e a viaggiare fra taxi, aerei, scarpinando a piedi per tutto il Montenegro. Poco credibile che una persona della sua stazza, che non è facile alle passeggiate fuori casa, riesca a muoversi con tale agilità su montagne impervie, anche se conosciute a menadito perché luoghi della sua infanzia. Certo è che questa montagna di grasso in pigiama giallo e copriletto di seta nero fa sempre piacere incontrarla!
March 20, 2024
I honestly couldn’t get on board with the concept of Nero Wolfe traipsing about Europe. He won’t even leave his brownstone but for extremely extenuating circumstances - just too much of a leap for me.
May 23, 2015
This is the most atypical of all the Nero Wolfe books as Wolfe not only leaves the house for an extended period of time but crosses the ocean in search of revenge. His best friend from boyhood, Marko Vukic is gunned down in assassination style and Wolfe goes to Montenegro, the land of his and Marko's birth to hunt down the killers. He also discovers that his adopted daughter, Carla has been murdered as well. With Archie in tow, they hike the mountains of the rough and lawless country to search for the killers and Wolfe actually holds up very well under terrific physical effort.....his lust for revenge keeps him going although he may be stronger than we are led to believe in all the other books. A very different Nero Wolfe lives in the pages of this book and we get a rather personal look at the man himself. Recommended.
December 20, 2017
Ho una passione per Nero Wolfe e Archie Goodwin, sono riuscita a rintracciare tutti i titoli (me ne mancano solo 3), perlopiù in vecchissime edizioni del giallo mondadori.
E' talmente riposante: in genere non ci sono quasi mai situazioni di suspence, tranne la risoluzione finale nello studio di NW; AG fa la vita dello scapolone brillante; le trame sono perfette e quasi mai ripetitive.
Solo alcuni volumi sono tirati via, ma sospetto che la traduzione e l'editing degli anni '50-'60 abbiano le loro colpe.
E' talmente riposante: in genere non ci sono quasi mai situazioni di suspence, tranne la risoluzione finale nello studio di NW; AG fa la vita dello scapolone brillante; le trame sono perfette e quasi mai ripetitive.
Solo alcuni volumi sono tirati via, ma sospetto che la traduzione e l'editing degli anni '50-'60 abbiano le loro colpe.
July 7, 2015
This is Rex Stout's clean-up novel.
Having created a fully formed world for Nero Wolfe from the very first novel, Stout was left with something of a paradox. Every story that strayed beyond the walls of the W. 35th St Brownstone was a satisfying glimpse into the mysterious paradoxes of Wolfe. Over time Wolfe began to accrete a history. Most of these began innocently, his affinity for a particular restaurant evolved into a lifelong friendship with the restauranteur Marko Vukcic, which then added to Wolfe's adventurous youth in the Balkins. From there it was a small step for Wolfe to adopt Carla Lovchen, a daughter from that romantic past and a token of his homeland. The paradox is, the more back story Stout gave Wolfe the less eccentric and interesting he became; the more human and less of a singularity.
By the 1950s, with that back story solidly established and twenty years in without a refresher, Stout apparently felt it was time to reboot and eliminate elements that no longer served as a source of plots, or even tied the series too firmly to its pre-WWII origins. In typical Stout style, his preferred method is remarkably direct. In the first few pages we lose both of these legacy characters to a violent death, and Wolfe is motivated to bring the murderer to justice.
As early as Fer-de-lance there were suggestions that Wolfe's extreme sloth was more pose than reality, a reputation for eccentricity works to free him up from convention and allows him to reject any demand upon a whim. This is why Wolfe so often breaks his own rules when necessary, astonishing Archie with his sudden bursts of energy (really, Archie should know better after all this time). The Black Mountain is best understood as the series extreme of this unexpected energy, where (propelled by this doubly personal motivation) Wolfe leaves Manhattan behind and travels to his birthplace in Montenegro.
The story that follows his leaving the Brownstone is ridiculous in the extreme, owing more to James Bond than Sherlock Holmes. In the end we are confronted, suddenly, with the solution to the chase in the least believable circumstances possible. We are also expected to believe in Nero Wolfe, action hero while also constantly being fed humorous little statements about his aching feet, and his astonishing ability to negotiate narrow paths along cliff faces and tiny gaps without his having dropped any of his ~370 lbs.
All in all, this volume is a reboot, a palate cleanser, a clean-up novel, whatever you wish to consider it. After this, the Nero Wolfe series ossified entirely into its classic form, freed of the baggage of the earlier period, and these characters and their former importance almost vanish from our view.
Being so entirely out of step with the rest of the series is, in some ways, a virtue since it illustrates how fortunate we are that Wolfe preferred the confines of his Brownstone. Otherwise, this book is kind of an awkward embarrassment: Nero Wolfe Versus the Communist Menace.
Having created a fully formed world for Nero Wolfe from the very first novel, Stout was left with something of a paradox. Every story that strayed beyond the walls of the W. 35th St Brownstone was a satisfying glimpse into the mysterious paradoxes of Wolfe. Over time Wolfe began to accrete a history. Most of these began innocently, his affinity for a particular restaurant evolved into a lifelong friendship with the restauranteur Marko Vukcic, which then added to Wolfe's adventurous youth in the Balkins. From there it was a small step for Wolfe to adopt Carla Lovchen, a daughter from that romantic past and a token of his homeland. The paradox is, the more back story Stout gave Wolfe the less eccentric and interesting he became; the more human and less of a singularity.
By the 1950s, with that back story solidly established and twenty years in without a refresher, Stout apparently felt it was time to reboot and eliminate elements that no longer served as a source of plots, or even tied the series too firmly to its pre-WWII origins. In typical Stout style, his preferred method is remarkably direct. In the first few pages we lose both of these legacy characters to a violent death, and Wolfe is motivated to bring the murderer to justice.
As early as Fer-de-lance there were suggestions that Wolfe's extreme sloth was more pose than reality, a reputation for eccentricity works to free him up from convention and allows him to reject any demand upon a whim. This is why Wolfe so often breaks his own rules when necessary, astonishing Archie with his sudden bursts of energy (really, Archie should know better after all this time). The Black Mountain is best understood as the series extreme of this unexpected energy, where (propelled by this doubly personal motivation) Wolfe leaves Manhattan behind and travels to his birthplace in Montenegro.
The story that follows his leaving the Brownstone is ridiculous in the extreme, owing more to James Bond than Sherlock Holmes. In the end we are confronted, suddenly, with the solution to the chase in the least believable circumstances possible. We are also expected to believe in Nero Wolfe, action hero while also constantly being fed humorous little statements about his aching feet, and his astonishing ability to negotiate narrow paths along cliff faces and tiny gaps without his having dropped any of his ~370 lbs.
All in all, this volume is a reboot, a palate cleanser, a clean-up novel, whatever you wish to consider it. After this, the Nero Wolfe series ossified entirely into its classic form, freed of the baggage of the earlier period, and these characters and their former importance almost vanish from our view.
Being so entirely out of step with the rest of the series is, in some ways, a virtue since it illustrates how fortunate we are that Wolfe preferred the confines of his Brownstone. Otherwise, this book is kind of an awkward embarrassment: Nero Wolfe Versus the Communist Menace.
April 1, 2016
The most exciting adventure Nero and Archie have ever had!
I listened to this story again March 30 and 31st of 2016. Nero goes home to the place he was born and Archie pretends to be his son to catch a killer and bring him back to NY and justice.
I listened to this story again March 30 and 31st of 2016. Nero goes home to the place he was born and Archie pretends to be his son to catch a killer and bring him back to NY and justice.
June 14, 2019
I may be a little vague, but it looks as if we have three choices. One, stay here and get nowhere. Two, go home and forget it. Three, go to Montenegro and get killed. I have never seen a less attractive batch to pick from.
January 30, 2019
If you've never read a Nero Wolfe, don't start with this one. It's only interesting to those who know the characters. This is nothing like all the others, but I still enjoyed it.
August 27, 2018
My first Nero Wolfe and I was a bit worried about joining the series at number 24, but I need not have been.
I read it primarily because I was cycling in Montenegro where the novel is set.
It’s great fun. Though a crime novel, that has been a little dated in the stereotypical images of the locals as seen in the 1950s, it shouldn’t be taken seriously.
I read it primarily because I was cycling in Montenegro where the novel is set.
It’s great fun. Though a crime novel, that has been a little dated in the stereotypical images of the locals as seen in the 1950s, it shouldn’t be taken seriously.
May 2, 2022
This novel opens with a shocking and truly sad murder. The victim is one of Nero Wolfe’s genuine friends, Marko Vukcic. Marko either appeared or was mentioned in just about every Nero Wolfe novel to this point. He was a world class chef who was one of the few people that Wolfe would leave his house for. He could also motivate Wolfe to take on tasks Wolfe didn’t want to. They were genuinely friends and Stout open the novel by having Marko killed in what is essentially a drive by shooting. Wolfe is so upset that he both goes to the morgue to see the body and actually visits the crime scene. He then vows to bring the killer to justice starting what should have been the best and most powerful of Nero Wolfe stories.
Should have been, but didn’t quite make it. Wolfe does things that one would never have believed based on the rest of the series. He and Archie sneak into Montenegro in search of the murderer (and the murderer of yet another victim close to Wolfe) and frankly it just didn’t feel like a Wolfe mystery. The whole middle of the book, Archie and Wolfe stumble from one event to another and don’t seem to have to do any detecting to learn the identity of the murderer. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable. But then, Stout remembers what makes Wolfe great. Rather than have Wolfe kill his friend’s murderer, Wolfe decides to find a way to get back to New York City where he can face justice. Seeing as the killer is an agent of a communist government and is in that communist country, this seems a very tall order to fill. But it’s Nero Wolfe we’re talking about. And just as he solves his case, he saves the story.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
Should have been, but didn’t quite make it. Wolfe does things that one would never have believed based on the rest of the series. He and Archie sneak into Montenegro in search of the murderer (and the murderer of yet another victim close to Wolfe) and frankly it just didn’t feel like a Wolfe mystery. The whole middle of the book, Archie and Wolfe stumble from one event to another and don’t seem to have to do any detecting to learn the identity of the murderer. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable. But then, Stout remembers what makes Wolfe great. Rather than have Wolfe kill his friend’s murderer, Wolfe decides to find a way to get back to New York City where he can face justice. Seeing as the killer is an agent of a communist government and is in that communist country, this seems a very tall order to fill. But it’s Nero Wolfe we’re talking about. And just as he solves his case, he saves the story.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
April 23, 2022
Nero Wolfe's oldest friend, Marko Vukcic is gunned down outside his apartment building and Wolfe immediately plunges into the case. It looks very much like a professional hit job. While Inspector Crames has his team rifling through Vukcic business contacts and love life (Vukcic, unlike Wolfe, enjoyed the ladies), Wolfe and his team are looking for Montenegran connections. He gets word through connections in Europe that "The man you seek is within sight of the mountain." For Wolfe, this means only one mountain: Lovchen--The Black Mountain--from which Montenegro gets its name.
There is another personal connection, Wolfe's adopted daughter, Carla Britten, was in the same political groups as Vukcic--supporting action in Montenegro. She doesn't get along well with her adopted father, but had asked him to look into Vukcic death as well. But she didn't trust him entirely and took herself off to Europe to look into matters. Now she's been killed as well. So Wolfe and Archie head to Europe to hunt down a killer in dangerous terrain. And Archie gets a bit of a shock--in these foreign lands, Wolfe becomes the man of action and his leg-man has to take a back seat.
I've never been a very big fan of the stories that take Wolfe out of his element. When he leaves the brownstone it's a momentous occasion, but rarely an extraordinarily good one. His character isn't made to travel. So, it's no major surprise that I found this novel--which takes Wolfe's traveling to extremes--to be a major disappointment. My notes from the pre-blogging days say I read this and, apparently, enjoyed it way more than I did this time. But I've forgotten everything I enjoyed about it.
The beginning is very good--Wolfe's close friend is shot and killed and he feels personally obligated to track down the murderer. He's going to take on a case with no hope of a fee (and he really doesn't want one since this is a personal matter). But it goes downhill from there--we get a travelogue of Wolfe and Archie going to Europe to take on Communist or Fascist or what-have-you bad guys. We get a stilted story--ostensibly because Archie isn't telling it verbatim as he normally would. You see, Wolfe speaks eight languages and Archie speaks one, so everything we get once we reach Montenegro (Yugoslavia) is translated through Wolfe to Archie. I'm not a big fan of Cold War politics/espionage/secret organization books and they need to be done well to keep me engaged. I just don't think Stout did that sort of thing well. Let's go back to the brownstone and solve some old-fashioned murders.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
There is another personal connection, Wolfe's adopted daughter, Carla Britten, was in the same political groups as Vukcic--supporting action in Montenegro. She doesn't get along well with her adopted father, but had asked him to look into Vukcic death as well. But she didn't trust him entirely and took herself off to Europe to look into matters. Now she's been killed as well. So Wolfe and Archie head to Europe to hunt down a killer in dangerous terrain. And Archie gets a bit of a shock--in these foreign lands, Wolfe becomes the man of action and his leg-man has to take a back seat.
I've never been a very big fan of the stories that take Wolfe out of his element. When he leaves the brownstone it's a momentous occasion, but rarely an extraordinarily good one. His character isn't made to travel. So, it's no major surprise that I found this novel--which takes Wolfe's traveling to extremes--to be a major disappointment. My notes from the pre-blogging days say I read this and, apparently, enjoyed it way more than I did this time. But I've forgotten everything I enjoyed about it.
The beginning is very good--Wolfe's close friend is shot and killed and he feels personally obligated to track down the murderer. He's going to take on a case with no hope of a fee (and he really doesn't want one since this is a personal matter). But it goes downhill from there--we get a travelogue of Wolfe and Archie going to Europe to take on Communist or Fascist or what-have-you bad guys. We get a stilted story--ostensibly because Archie isn't telling it verbatim as he normally would. You see, Wolfe speaks eight languages and Archie speaks one, so everything we get once we reach Montenegro (Yugoslavia) is translated through Wolfe to Archie. I'm not a big fan of Cold War politics/espionage/secret organization books and they need to be done well to keep me engaged. I just don't think Stout did that sort of thing well. Let's go back to the brownstone and solve some old-fashioned murders.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
November 21, 2017
All I can say is Wow! Considering the fact that this book was written in 1954, it seems very prescient. Rex Stout did a very good job portraying/describing the conditions of the people of Montenegro, which was, during the 1950's, part of Yugoslavia. Considering the fact that they believed there was always hope, if not for Montenegrins of that time, but for their children, is how Mr Stout "saw the future." I took the time to read up on Montenegro and it did reach full independence in 2006. They waited centuries but Montenegro finally became it's own country, under no one's rule.
The Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin story was a little far-fetched, considering all the possible things that could've gone wrong, but it was still fun to hear Archie Goodwin's quips, even in the most dire circumstances. One of my favorite lines was when they were cold, and it was raining, and they were left standing outside under a tree and Archie surmised that the possible name of the tree was the dripping tree.
There were times when the description of some of the treatment of the people, and the conditions they lived in was a little gruesome, but it was necessary for those conditions to be described because that's how things were. Definitely worth the read.
The Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin story was a little far-fetched, considering all the possible things that could've gone wrong, but it was still fun to hear Archie Goodwin's quips, even in the most dire circumstances. One of my favorite lines was when they were cold, and it was raining, and they were left standing outside under a tree and Archie surmised that the possible name of the tree was the dripping tree.
There were times when the description of some of the treatment of the people, and the conditions they lived in was a little gruesome, but it was necessary for those conditions to be described because that's how things were. Definitely worth the read.
July 17, 2014
This is a rare opportunity to observe Nero Wolfe out of his element. Nero's closest friend (Marko) and owner of Rusterman's, his favorite restaurant is murdered. Wolfe & Archie fly to Yugoslavia in search of the killer. YES...Nero leaves his Brownstone to solve a murder. Unheard of but it at long last it has happened.
This is a first for Nero with Archie by his side of course. I listened to this (and I've read the book) on CD masterfully narrated/performed by Michael Prichard. If you haven't listened to Nero Wolfe on CD by this artist please stop depriving yourself of a real treat.
I make no apologies for being a Nero Wolfe fan...addict. Rex Stout's formula is perfection.
This is a first for Nero with Archie by his side of course. I listened to this (and I've read the book) on CD masterfully narrated/performed by Michael Prichard. If you haven't listened to Nero Wolfe on CD by this artist please stop depriving yourself of a real treat.
I make no apologies for being a Nero Wolfe fan...addict. Rex Stout's formula is perfection.
September 19, 2011
Sometimes mystery writers try to go outside their area and put beloved characters into a spy novel rather than a mystery. Sometimes it works, but not this time. The whole mystique of Nero Wolfe is that he never leaves his house. Putting him in a physically demanding setting and having Archie handicapped by language issues makes for a frustrating story. It was comforting to know that Archie was equally frustrated.
March 1, 2023
This wasn't really a mystery but it was tons of fun. This entry in the series is much more of an adventure novel than a proper mystery and for this book and these characters, I was all for it.
January 28, 2020
This book is emotionally really hard to read. But interestingly enough it only does that because of how much work has gone into establishing the world of Nero Wolfe and his household. For twenty three books we have learned how Nero hates to leave the house on business, how his daily rituals are never to be interrupted, how he never willingly enters a vehicle not driven by Archie, how he insists on the best food, and how every little aspect of his life is tuned to his convenience and pleasure.
All of that is upended on the first page when
As usual the story is told from Archies point of view and that just adds to the sense of dislocation the reader has with all the changes in Nero's life. Archie spends most of the book in foreign countries where he doesn't speak the language and so spends entire conversations where he just sits and watches. Nero does spend time catching Archie up when occasion permits but even that misses things and Archie freely admits that this story is what "he thinks" was being said.
It's a great book but should not be read as your introduction to Nero Wolfe. The emotional impact comes because it violates everything Wolfe has made inviolate, and without that background the passion that drives him would be hard to understand.
All of that is upended on the first page when
As usual the story is told from Archies point of view and that just adds to the sense of dislocation the reader has with all the changes in Nero's life. Archie spends most of the book in foreign countries where he doesn't speak the language and so spends entire conversations where he just sits and watches. Nero does spend time catching Archie up when occasion permits but even that misses things and Archie freely admits that this story is what "he thinks" was being said.
It's a great book but should not be read as your introduction to Nero Wolfe. The emotional impact comes because it violates everything Wolfe has made inviolate, and without that background the passion that drives him would be hard to understand.
December 12, 2021
The Black Mountain, Rex Stout, 1954, 192pp.
Set, eponymously, in Nero Wolfe's natal Montenegro, we learn more of our hero's backstory.
This is a cold-war story. We go to and try to outwit . Takes place March 18 to April 28, 1954.
Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin's approximate travels in Montenegro:
This title is getting a little hard to find as a print book. Worldcat still lists some libraries with it:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/black-...
If you like cold-war stories, try Alistair MacLean's /The Secret Ways/.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
Quiz time!
The Black Mountain:
https://www.goodreads.com/trivia/work...
Rex Stout:
https://www.goodreads.com/trivia/auth...
Set, eponymously, in Nero Wolfe's natal Montenegro, we learn more of our hero's backstory.
This is a cold-war story. We go to and try to outwit . Takes place March 18 to April 28, 1954.
Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin's approximate travels in Montenegro:
This title is getting a little hard to find as a print book. Worldcat still lists some libraries with it:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/black-...
If you like cold-war stories, try Alistair MacLean's /The Secret Ways/.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
Quiz time!
The Black Mountain:
https://www.goodreads.com/trivia/work...
Rex Stout:
https://www.goodreads.com/trivia/auth...
January 4, 2021
Quite different than the normal Archie and Wolfe investigation- Wolfe left the house and the country! Much more adventure/espionage than usual, but still enjoyable.
August 29, 2020
I devoured Nero Wolfe books when I was a kid. I remember walking into the bookstore and heading straight to the mystery section to buy the next two or three in the series and then reading them over the next couple of weeks.
So I enthusiastically (if a little guiltily) picked this one up as a short diversion a few weeks ago. I had never read it — or didn’t remember it, at least. And as I put it down, finished, the other night, I found myself wondering why I wasted my time. (It earned an extra star for nostalgia — if reading it won’t bring you back to younger, easier days, consider this one a one-star review.)
Stout’s characters are flat and wooden. By his own admission he once said he doesn’t want people focusing on the characters but on the story (I found out last week in a short bio on Wikipedia — consider the source. He may have been all about character development). Instead he wanted his readers to focus on the story, the mystery, apparently.
Here is the problem: The Black Mountain is a travelogue of the places Wolfe and his assistant, Archie Goodwin went after Wolfe’s best friend is murdered. A play by play of a rare trip overseas for Wolfe, the story is absent. The mystery is unsolvable by the reader — robbing the said reader of the simple joy of reading a whodunit.
What you are left with is a book that advances the story of characters that Stout doesn’t want you to see evolving (Wolfe and Goodwin never age in the series, for instance, though the series spans decades, according to the aforementioned Wikipedia). I can only wonder if the next book in the series offers more to this story. I may pick it up at some point — though I’ll do it furtively.
So I enthusiastically (if a little guiltily) picked this one up as a short diversion a few weeks ago. I had never read it — or didn’t remember it, at least. And as I put it down, finished, the other night, I found myself wondering why I wasted my time. (It earned an extra star for nostalgia — if reading it won’t bring you back to younger, easier days, consider this one a one-star review.)
Stout’s characters are flat and wooden. By his own admission he once said he doesn’t want people focusing on the characters but on the story (I found out last week in a short bio on Wikipedia — consider the source. He may have been all about character development). Instead he wanted his readers to focus on the story, the mystery, apparently.
Here is the problem: The Black Mountain is a travelogue of the places Wolfe and his assistant, Archie Goodwin went after Wolfe’s best friend is murdered. A play by play of a rare trip overseas for Wolfe, the story is absent. The mystery is unsolvable by the reader — robbing the said reader of the simple joy of reading a whodunit.
What you are left with is a book that advances the story of characters that Stout doesn’t want you to see evolving (Wolfe and Goodwin never age in the series, for instance, though the series spans decades, according to the aforementioned Wikipedia). I can only wonder if the next book in the series offers more to this story. I may pick it up at some point — though I’ll do it furtively.
June 6, 2012
I love Nero Wolfe and his street-smart sidekick Archie Goodwin. But "The Black Mountain" is just a bore. I couldn't finish it. Do yourself a favor and get The Rubber Band or Champagne for One instead.
August 26, 2007
Rex Stout is possibly the best mystery writer ever, and again, the mysteries themselves are barely passable. But the characters of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are fantastic. They are the best tune out for the weekend books I have ever had my hands on. And I have tuned out for many weekends. Read at least three. If you don't want to go on from there, well fine, be that way.
March 7, 2017
A different twist for Nero and Archie and one of Stout's most interesting.
November 24, 2023
Okay, this is now one of my favorite books in the series. Somehow, Rex Stout takes his characters completely out of their element, nearly switches their traditional roles, and yet never writes Nero and Archie out of character. That is an amazing skill!
Spoilers Ahead for anyone who wants to avoid them
Written in 1955, Stout places the Cold War front and center of the book. We begin with the death of Marko Vukcic, a recurring character who was a friend of Nero and owner of one of the very few restaurants the big man would deign to enter. As the author moves us into the weeks ahead, it becomes clear that the killer has left NYC, if not the USA.
In the middle of this, Nero's daughter, Carla, makes an appearance. She has herself become a friend to Marko and is as determined as her father to find his killer. This does not end well for her. Shortly thereafter, Nero not only leaves the brownstone, but the entire continent of North America, with Archie in tow to the big man's home country of Montenegro. The goal is now to find the killers of two people who were near and dear to a man who endeavors to keep the entire world at arms length.
All killers were discovered, with Carla's being dispatched in Montenegro. The killer of Marko is tricked into returning to the US where he is captured and taken to jail. The ruse that Stout developed to bring the killer back is incredibly plotted out and why this book received five stars. I won't spoil a single sentence, because it is just that good.
Highly recommended for fans of Rex Stout, Nero Wolfe, and detective fiction in general.
Spoilers Ahead for anyone who wants to avoid them
Written in 1955, Stout places the Cold War front and center of the book. We begin with the death of Marko Vukcic, a recurring character who was a friend of Nero and owner of one of the very few restaurants the big man would deign to enter. As the author moves us into the weeks ahead, it becomes clear that the killer has left NYC, if not the USA.
In the middle of this, Nero's daughter, Carla, makes an appearance. She has herself become a friend to Marko and is as determined as her father to find his killer. This does not end well for her. Shortly thereafter, Nero not only leaves the brownstone, but the entire continent of North America, with Archie in tow to the big man's home country of Montenegro. The goal is now to find the killers of two people who were near and dear to a man who endeavors to keep the entire world at arms length.
All killers were discovered, with Carla's being dispatched in Montenegro. The killer of Marko is tricked into returning to the US where he is captured and taken to jail. The ruse that Stout developed to bring the killer back is incredibly plotted out and why this book received five stars. I won't spoil a single sentence, because it is just that good.
Highly recommended for fans of Rex Stout, Nero Wolfe, and detective fiction in general.
August 21, 2019
Well, this one is really unique among the Wolfe canon. The book opens with the murder of Wolfe’s best and oldest friend, Marko Vukcic, also a native of Montenegro. Wolfe’s adopted daughter, Carla, also appears, and is also murdered. Wolfe and Archie travel to Italy and Montenegro, and the bulk of the novel is more akin to a spy novel than the typical Nero Wolfe story. In fact, I was reminded of the first Mrs. Pollifax book because a lot of it takes place in Albania, a neighbor of Montenegro.
July 7, 2020
Wolfe never - well almost never leaves his home on a case. When his childhood friend is ginned wn he not only leaves his home, he flies to DC, London, Paris, Rome and sails to Yugoslavia to climb mountains and find a killer. He then sails home and turns that killer over to the police. All in a few months work for Nero Wolfe and his dazed and confused associate Archie Goodwin.
April 2, 2018
This was a real treat to get to know more of the man himself in his birth land. Also, picturing one ton Wolfe trekking over a mountain with a knife strapped to his leg was well worth it! Though this story was darker than some of the mysteries, it was enjoyable to listen to it.
November 20, 2019
Rex Stout
No universo literário, Rex Stout fez parte do imaginário da minha adolescência.
Os seus livros integraram, desde o início, o catálogo da velhinha e tradicional coleção Vampiro que o meu pai comprava e que me habituei a ver nas prateleiras das estantes lá de casa.
É curta a memória que tenho dessas leituras – uma ou outra linha de construção das clássicas histórias policiais e a figura de um detetive que marcava o seu tempo pela diferença.
A montanha negra
Este é um título que, não sendo dos primeiros da série criada por Rex Stout, marca uma reviravolta na postura do detetive. Desta vez, Nero Wolfe sai da sua casa, na rua 35 da “Big Apple” para ir até à sua terra natal, na zona de Montenegro, na antiga Jugoslávia do presidente Tito.
Tem em mãos a resolução do assassinato do seu amigo Marko Vukcic, morto à porta de sua casa, em plena cidade de Nova Iorque dos anos 50.
Como as investigações da polícia e as suas próprias não fazem progressos, Wolfe faz o impensável - deixa a cidade e sai dos Estados Unidos.
Para trás e por tempo indeterminado, ficam as estufas de orquídeas, os pratos requintados de cozinha, as leituras, a cerveja ...
É em nome de um velho conhecimento e de uma recíproca amizade da adolescência que ele sente que, desta vez, terá de perseguir os criminosos no terreno.
Ao longo da história, o leitor sente que este é um caso que envolve a vingança pessoal do detetive, concretizando-a, precisamente pelo trabalho de campo que realiza.
O janota Archie acompanha-o, como se fosse seu filho e alguém que não fala a língua local. E este facto novo, transmite também algum humor aos diálogos da narrativa.
Por todos estes motivos, este é um livro atípico de Nero Wolfe, mas em que se perceciona melhor o retrato pessoal do homem.
Eva Laginha
No universo literário, Rex Stout fez parte do imaginário da minha adolescência.
Os seus livros integraram, desde o início, o catálogo da velhinha e tradicional coleção Vampiro que o meu pai comprava e que me habituei a ver nas prateleiras das estantes lá de casa.
É curta a memória que tenho dessas leituras – uma ou outra linha de construção das clássicas histórias policiais e a figura de um detetive que marcava o seu tempo pela diferença.
A montanha negra
Este é um título que, não sendo dos primeiros da série criada por Rex Stout, marca uma reviravolta na postura do detetive. Desta vez, Nero Wolfe sai da sua casa, na rua 35 da “Big Apple” para ir até à sua terra natal, na zona de Montenegro, na antiga Jugoslávia do presidente Tito.
Tem em mãos a resolução do assassinato do seu amigo Marko Vukcic, morto à porta de sua casa, em plena cidade de Nova Iorque dos anos 50.
Como as investigações da polícia e as suas próprias não fazem progressos, Wolfe faz o impensável - deixa a cidade e sai dos Estados Unidos.
Para trás e por tempo indeterminado, ficam as estufas de orquídeas, os pratos requintados de cozinha, as leituras, a cerveja ...
É em nome de um velho conhecimento e de uma recíproca amizade da adolescência que ele sente que, desta vez, terá de perseguir os criminosos no terreno.
Ao longo da história, o leitor sente que este é um caso que envolve a vingança pessoal do detetive, concretizando-a, precisamente pelo trabalho de campo que realiza.
O janota Archie acompanha-o, como se fosse seu filho e alguém que não fala a língua local. E este facto novo, transmite também algum humor aos diálogos da narrativa.
Por todos estes motivos, este é um livro atípico de Nero Wolfe, mas em que se perceciona melhor o retrato pessoal do homem.
Eva Laginha
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