The Last Coincidence

Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Mysteries #4

by Robert Goldsborough

After the heir to a frozen-food fortune gets iced, Wolfe’s right-hand man, Archie Goodwin, becomes a suspect

When Lily Rowan doesn’t laugh at his jokes, Archie Goodwin knows something is wrong. Her niece Noreen has been running around with Sparky Linville, a club-hopping bad boy who is the terror of Manhattan nightlife. And the last time she went out with him, Noreen wasn’t herself when she came home. All she would tell her aunt was that she had been assaulted.



Springing into action, Goodwin waits for Linville outside of Morgana’s, a chrome-and-glass palace that sits like a wart on Second Avenue. They nearly come to blows, but Linville’s bodyguard intervenes, and Goodwin retreats to plan his next move. In the morning Linville is dead, and Goodwin is the chief suspect. For years he has helped rotund genius Nero Wolfe out of jams, and now it is time for the master detective to return the favor.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Detective, Audiobook, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Robert Goldsborough is an American author of mystery novels. He was born in 1937 and grew up in the Chicago area. Although he worked for 45 years for the Chicago Tribune and Advertising Age, he first came to prominence in the 1980s with the publication, with the approval of the estate of Rex Stout, of his Nero Wolfe mystery Murder in E Minor. Written privately for his mother back in 1978, shortly after the death of Stout, creator of the Wolfe stories, the novel received a Nero Award.

Six other Nero Wolfe books followed from Goldsborough, all favorably received. However, more recently he has turned his attention to creating books with his own characters, beginning with Three Strikes You're Dead, a novel set in pre-war Chicago, and starring Steve Malek, a reporter for the Tribune.

Series:
* Nero Wolfe Novels by Robert Goldsborough
* Snap Malek Mystery

Reviews

[Irene Sauman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have, over the past six weeks or so, re-read all the Rex Stout Nero Wolfe books and some of those written by his successor, Robert Goldsborough. Despite his best efforts, Goldsborough doesn’t quite get Stout’s voice. The writing is overall not as tight and Archie Goodwin’s voice isn’t always truly Archie. I’m not sure any author can seamlessly re-create another author’s work, and Rex Stout was a particularly hard act to follow with his IQ of 185
Most of the Goldsborough titles are readable, however, the mystery interesting and well worked out. But this particular Goldsborough title I was not able to re-read, and I’m not sure – memory being a fragile thing – if I managed to read it the first time round. I suspect I didn’t. I certainly don’t remember how it came out. The reason I couldn’t go on with it is because Goldsborough set up Archie in a situation I couldn’t picture him in.
Archie goes out to confront the bad boy, without a plan. Now Archie Goodwin has told us often enough how he figures out what he is going to do before he goes out to see someone, sorting through various scenarios. Then Goldsborough has him acting like a common thug when he tries to take a punch at the bad boy’s mouthy friend and the doorman has to intervene. Archie has to retreat.
Any reader of these books can see what is going to happen next. The bad boy is going to wind up dead and Archie will be the main suspect. Inspector Cramer and Sergeant Purley Stebbins are just waiting for this last coincidence to get Archie and bloody Wolfe's nose.
The other item I had issue with was Archie’s treatment of Fred Durkin, an occasional operative employed by Wolfe and someone Archie has worked with, and played poker with on Thursday nights, through many of the 47 Stout stories. Stout would not have had him behave the way he did here, nor would he have written disparagingly of Fred at such length.
I am going to give Goldsborough a rest now, and keep my memories of Stout’s Wolfe and Archie unsullied.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5.
The characters are finally settling into their altered roles. This was the best of the first four Goldsborough Nero Wolfe books.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Coincidence (hardcover) by Robert Goldsborough.

I am (as a fan of Nero Wolfe & Archie) indebted to first Rex Stout for his consideration of all of his many fans in naming this author for continuation in this outstanding series. Robert Goldsborough was officially and legally given Rex Stout's seal of approval in his Will. Secondly, I am indebted to Robert Goldsborough for taking on this enormous task of bringing us into the Brownstone and the lives of Nero & Archie. Well done! Rex can continue to rest in peace knowing he made a good choice.

Lily rowan asks Archie for his assistance in a family matter. It appears that her niece, Noreen James, had been sexually molested by an entitled evil runt of a play boy. Sparky Linville had been found murdered next to his car in a garage in the upper east end of town. Who was most outraged at his cowardly attack on Noreen to bring Sparky's life to an end?
Then the police arrest Noreen's brother Michael who later confesses to the crime. Now Noreen asks Wolfe to become involved in proving it just ain't so and to find the real murderer. A cast of characters beginning with all of Lily's and Noreen's family are brought to the forefront as the elimination process begins.

[Bryan Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was probably the best in the series so far. I thought the voices for Archie and for Lilly were particularly true to form.

Archie drags Nero into another murder case when he has a confrontation with the victim shortly before he is murdered. Fortunately Archie has a solid alibi but non of the other suspects do. With multiple motives and reasons for bumping him off Nero has to put the solution together.

The major reason this is not 4 stars is once again Nero waits at his desk as all the people are assembled. That bothered me way more this time than it did last time mostly because the voices of the characters were so much more true to my memory of Rex Stouts voices. So having Nero do something that he obviously would not do and that was specifically pointed out several times in Stout's books jarred me out of my enjoyment right at the very end.

[Corey Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook and it was thoroughly entertaining. This is my first Goldsborough book and I became a quick fan. His wit is great!

[Lady Wesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of the Goldsborough books.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lily Rowan’s niece has been attacked and Archie Goodwin is determined to do something about it—even while protecting the secret that she’s been assaulted. Unfortunately, shortly after he gets on the case, the assailant is murdered. I thought Archie was going to be in some trouble over this, but things quickly take an even more dire turn when Rowan’s nephew confesses to the crime even though no one thinks he could have done it.

When Wolfe is badgered into taking the case to find the true killer, it looks to be a fairly typical mystery. The big problem is that none of the suspects can be eliminated because they all had the opportunity to commit the crime. This leads to a classic Wolfe ending in which he gathers everyone together to ferret out the guilty party.

The Last Coincidence is a fun, fasting moving book in which I was delighted to see Inspector Cramer return in all his former glory, shouting at Wolfe and trying to bully him into releasing information that Wolfe may or may not have, but isn’t going to give to him anyway. It was a delight, even if I didn’t figure out who the murderer was.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Diane Shearer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s readable but it’s not Rex Stout. Even so I’ll read through the Goldsborough titles just for fun.

[Dueep Jyot · Rating 1 out of 5]

Being a lifelong fan of Rex Stout, I really hate it when another author takes up the load of writing like the master, and makes a hash of it. I have all the Nero Wolfe books, and this was the most colorless And boring book, with my favorite characters, Archie and Mr. Wolfe. Archie has to be snappy, witty, With a dry sort of humor, which shows in his reports. Mr. Goldsborough's Archie is thoroughly boring, and does not have the chemistry with Lily Rowan, we are supposed to think that he has that when he says yea and adore you... in the first 2 pages. Lily never called Archie Escamillo more than 2 times in the original book. Mr. Stout was not very certain whether Archie had brown eyes, because in another book, he had gray eyes! In this book, he has baby blues.
His give-and-take with Nero has all the smiling power of watching grass grow, sitting on the lawn. just saying that he is learning his vocabulary from the Dictionary and using big words like obfuscation does not a Nero Wolfe bestseller make.
Also Nero Wolfe has never said that Archie has aplomb. He may sometimes call Archie's self confidence and assurance brazen impudence, because he has a slight sense of humor himself, but he is never going to use this word aplomb. And worst of all, in all the 43 Nero Wolfe books written, nobody swears. That was because Rex Stout was brought up by a very strict principal who said he would rather have a student/prefect die, than swear.
So Inspector Cramer saying damn and even Archie swearing, – does not work.
Also, now that Archie has been brought in the 21st century, with a PC, he still has to go to Lon Cohen For getting to know the gen on people? What is the Internet for?
And calling Wolfe's orchids posies. Archie is never going to be so arch, no pun intended.
Too many mistakes. Sorry, not my cup of tea.

[Kay Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know some Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe purists are not thrilled with Robert Goldsborough’s continuation of the series, but I’ve been enjoying his efforts. The Last Coincidence was published in 1989, and, although the characters have not aged over several decades, they are now living in the late twentieth century, and Archie is keeping the orchid records and doing other office tasks on a computer. His relationship with long-time lady friend Lily Rowan gets a bit more attention, too, although Archie remains a gentleman and never goes into detail.

In this installment, Wolfe and Archie investigate the murder of a young man who assaulted Lily’s niece. For a moment even Archie might be a suspect, but attention soon turns to a collection of Lily’s relatives and their friends. The novel ends, as Wolfe’s cases often do, with all the suspects gathered in Wolfe’s office, as the great detective drinks beer and explains all.

Many years ago, when I was a book-a-day reader, I barreled through all the Nero Wolfe novels. I’ve picked up and enjoyed a few of those more recently, but I’m also happy to see the cases continue.

[Robert Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Goldsborough does an admirable job of rejuvenating the the rotund pedantic detective and his sly and quick witted right hand man. I enjoyed the updating of the scenery to the present day (that being the the late 1980's) it felt comfortable and not a manufactured period piece. The plot and characters held my interest, although I found the final solution to be somewhat simplistic. All in all... satisfactory.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this novel a four-star, but for the who did it at the end. Otherwise it’s well written. This is the fourth book in the Goldsborough Nero Wolfe series, and I found the 2 main characters not quite as verbose as the other three that I’ve read, but still, I am especially aware of Archie and Wolfe’s dialogue as being not quite as sharp as in the original series by Rex Stout.

[Ken Mattes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the Nero Wolfe series by Goldsborough.
This story revolves around the niece of Lilly who suffered a traumatic event and was struggling with the aftermath of the event. Archie was looking into the event when the focus of his investigation was murdered and dark secrets of Lilly’s family are disclosed in the process of identifying the killer.

[Diane K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am leery of a book that abruptly tosses in characters that we should have known about before. So Lily Rowan has a half sister? And never a mention of her previously? Cramer speaks of knowing Lily as a child, but not her sibling? Nary a mention of Lily sharing her father's vast wealth with someone else? And Goldsborough does not put in a single line explaining anything. Was Rowan married and widowed before he met Lily's mother? Married and divorced? Was he married at all?

I can see why Goldsborough wanted to make them relatives; you can't imagine Lily being so upset over an acquaintance, or Archie diving into the situation. But why the heck didn't he just make them cousins? Cousins work. They can come from anywhere, and be of any age, which brings up another point: Rex Stout's Lily Rowan, of the frozen-in-time characterization, could hardly be old enough to have a niece who is "of age" unless her sister is practically old enough to be her mother. The book as a whole made Lily and Archie both seem to suddenly age a great deal. Hearing Archie tell of taking Lily on the dance floor at Morgana's and showing the "young pups" a thing or too made me wince. No doubt he then went home nice and early and heated up his milk before drinking it, too. G'night, Pops.

Archie can be impetuous, yes, but only in the moment, when he sees an opportunity and thinks, "O.K, let's go with it." He would not carefully make plans to confront the brute and then be left standing, wondering, "Now what?" Archie does not like being made to look like a fool, still less when it's himself that's doing it.

Wolfe's solution did not work for me because it seemed that he didn't deduce what happened; it was more like "We know it wasn't Archie, and we prefer to believe that it wasn't Lily's niece or nephew. Their parents seem to be out of it, too. The last person known to be with the victim could have done it...now, what would the motive have been? Ah, he must have secretly had the hots for a person the victim had abused!" If we had been shown the slightest hint of this secret passion, it would have been at least a little plausible. Just a little show of extra interest when the girl's name was mentioned, an inquiry into her welfare, something! If the killer had kept his cool, Wolfe would have been stuck, because his "deduction" was really only a guess.

Goldsborough has picked up Rex Stout's habit of contradicting himself. Here's a quote from the first book, MURDER IN E MINOR:

"'Archie, he needs to work," Fritz would say. "He enjoys his food more then. Work sharpens his appetite.'".

And this, from near the end of THE LAST COINCIDENCE:

"I never notice anything wrong with Wolfe's eating habits during a case, but Fritz insists that all the worrying he does over a solution has an extremely detrimental effect on his appetite and digestion."

C'mon, Fritz, you can't have it both ways!

[Barry Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roughly a decade after Rex Stout's death ended the Nero Wolfe series of books, Robert Goldsborough was hired to continue the series. There are two distinct eras of Goldsborough's books. Early Goldsborough runs from 1986 (Murder in E Minor) to 1994 (The Missing Chapter). Late Goldsborough begins in 2012 (Archie Meets Nero Wolfe) and continues to (as of this review) 2018 (The Battered Badge).

I generally find the early Goldsborough books to be superior, as he does a much better job of capturing Stout's tone. The Last Coincidence, unfortunately, does not quite live up to the standard of the other early Goldsborough books. Three things are just a little off.

First, while Wolfe certainly sounds like Wolfe, Archie's voice is not quite "on" in this book. The tone is not as off in the late Goldsborough books, but there's a certain flippancy that Archie carries with him that seems forced here. Perhaps it's the subject matter (date rape), or trying to shoehorn Lily Rowan into the story. (Goldsborough is far more fascinated with LR than Stout ever was.)

Second, the plot is pure contrivance. Wolfe pulls the solution out of thinner air than when he pinned his solution on a diphthong (A Right to Die, 1964). Stout plotted some whoppers, but this one truly stretches credulity.

Third, there is the subject matter issue. Goldsborough dances around the date rape subject, never quite plumbing the horror of it and never quite raising the victim to true sympathy. He doesn't downplay it so much as he doesn't play it up quite enough. Since it is the motivating force for murder, it should get more word space.

Overall, a serviceable, but not particularly good, entry into the Nero Wolfe canon.

[Christopher Rush · Rating 2 out of 5]

While Goldsborough does give us a couple of nice moments, and the book is short and a fast read, this is mainly ... unpleasant. While of course murder is a repulsive, horrible thing, mystery novels and mystery shows and such (especially comedies like Psych) often enable us to navigate through the macabre aspect of a truly despicable aspect of human experience (at its worst, let's say) without letting us get too messy. The inciting action behind the murder in this book is another truly repulsive act, one you could argue is even worse, since the victim has to live with the wretched consequences, and while you could also argue the subject matter deserves (so to speak) to be addressed in literary form, Goldsborough handles it with no aplomb or sensitivity. Every belabored interview sees Archie repeating the question again and again, trying to get suspects to admit knowing about the heinous act, and it's just awful to sit through. And at the end, Goldsborough waves his majick wand and the poor girl has gotten over it and all is well again. As nice as it always is to spend time with Wolfe and Archie, this one probably does not need to exist.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I fear that the most significant commentary on this book (from me) is that I just finished re-reading it and didn't realize I'd read it 8 years ago until I saw that I'd already posted a review on Goodreads. So, let's say it was NOT the most memorable of Robert Goldsborough's Nero Wolfe books.

My principal quibble with it is that is is a very contemporary story and my personal bias prefers to find Archie and Nero Wolfe in the New York of the 30's to 50's, with all the period color. A big part of the charm of Stout's Nero Wolfe stories was the flavor of what New York used to be like. This author does a very credible job with dialogue between Wolfe and Goodwin, and I enjoy his stories; this was just not one of my favorites.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be totally fair this book may deserve more than one star, but I couldn’t finish it. Although I have enjoyed many of Goldsborough’s Wolfe books, this one didn’t feel authentic. Archie seemed out of character and lost his characteristic wit, there was none of the normal banter between characters, traditional Wolfe traits aren’t there, and Lily Rowan suddenly has a family. I made it half the way through and the mystery wasn’t holding my attention and the characters were annoying me.
Taking over the beloved characters of another author must be a major challenge. Hardcore fans, and I am one, are hard to please. That said, I’ve read and enjoyed other of Goldsborough’s Wolfe books. This one felt either rushed or lacking in inspiration.

[Paul O'Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always appreciate Goldsborough's Nero Wolfe stories on one level because he capture's Rex Stout's characters so well. I hear the Archie and Nero I have always loved in these novels. And yet, like a singer who may have stayed on the circuit a little too long, I think Goldsborough can reproduce the formula but the execution leaves something to be desired. Without offering any spoilers, I found the resolution of this mystery to be quite unsatisfying and frankly, unsurprising. I recommend this book for people who want to spend some time with Archie's wisecracks and Wolfe's curmudgeonly self, but expect too much. The form excels, the substance not so much.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently I missed this when it came out in 1989, but it gave me a clearer idea of why I'm not crazy about the continuation, by Goldsborough, of the original Stout series. I'd noticed that Archie Goodwin's narration, in this case of the story of a date-rapist who is conclusively stopped, doesn't seem too authentic, but today I realized that there's something wrong with Wolfe, too--he isn't a genius! (For instance, the person arrested by the police for the crime, out on bail, reluctantly visits Wolfe, who later tells Archie that the person did not do the crime. Why? Because he has an honest face? There's no close questioning, there's no explanation for Wolfe's statement.)

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as sharp as the others but better than average

[Sarah Stegall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let’s talk about plot. While actual criminals are often as stupid as a box of rocks, the villains in murder mysteries have to be capable of fooling the detective for at least the first half of the story. Mysteries are puzzles, and the chief attraction for a reader is arranging clues to solve the plot. Robert Goldsborough seems to consider this an afterthought in this fourth continuation of the Wolfe canon. There are no real clues to collect or ponder in this story, just a serious of dead-end interviews. In the end, Wolfe pulls the usual rabbit out of a hat, as we hoped he would do, but it’s a paper hat and a mangy rabbit. I was very disappointed when this story turned out to be as thin as it was.

What really annoyed me, however, was Goldsborough’s coy attitude towards rape. Rex Stout rarely included sex in his stories, and never forcible rape. Goldsborough, having decided to write about the aftermath of date rape, then manages to write an entire novel about it without actually using the word “rape”. The dialogue among the characters, including Wolfe and Archie, is so evasive, so elliptical, that a reader might reach the end wondering exactly what DID take place in that apartment. Why? We get ludicrous scenes in which Wolfe is *embarrassed* to be questioning a witness about sexual assault—Wolfe, whose ego permits rage and self-castigation, but never embarrassment. This is not Nero Wolfe. He may avoid women but he is neither shy nor cowed by them.

Goldsborough has enormous shoes to fill, and I don’t envy him the job. I applaud his inclusion of much of the flourishes and furbelows that Wolfe fans enjoy—the gourmet menus, Saul and Archie’s banter, Fritz’s worrying and hovering. And it was necessary to bring at least Archie into the late 20th century; his 1930s misogyny would have been grossly offensive in a 1989 story about sexual assault. The trouble is that for better or worse, this changes the Archie that we know. Whereas in earlier novels he has played the avenging knight errant, here his efforts sputter out ineffectively on a sidewalk. The 1940s version of Archie Goodwin would have decked his opponent. As I said, I don’t envy Goldsborough the job of updating this canon: I only wish he’d done so a little more effectively.

[Harry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my first Nero Wolfe mystery, so I can't speak as to whether Robert Goldsborough successfully followed in Rex Stout's footsteps or not. While I appreciated the character development, particularly of Nero Wolfe, the plot itself doesn't make any sense. Why would the brother and sister confess to a murder they did not commit only on the weak excuse that they might save another family member of being accused. The "coincidence" of lack of alibis for all the main characters has nothing to do with solving the crime. And finally any one of the main characters would have some motive of murdering Sparky Linville.
Nero Wolfe seems like Jabba the Hutt with an Oxford Dictionary. He rarely moves unless it is to tend to his orchards, guzzle beer or down three-course meals. It doesn't take a "genius" to solve his eventual demise - death by heart attack.
I am also somewhat surprised by the Puritanical writing style. Although Rex Stout developed the series in the 1930s, "The Last Coincidence" was written in 1989. The plot centers around a rape, but that word is never used - only euphemisms like attack. And while some characters may have muttered some curses, those words are never mentioned explicitly. And other than the aforementioned rape, no one ever has sex.

[Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author continued the Nero Wolfe Mystery series originated by Rex Stout. All of the recurring cast of characters from the original series are retained in this continuation. And they are portrayed flawlessly. You’d never know that Rex Stout wasn’t writing these mysteries. These are character driven mysteries. You’ll want to read the mysteries for both the story itself as well as to visit once again with your favorite characters. Each of the characters has unique and interesting personality. In this story, an arrogant womanizer is murdered. He leaves behind many people with a motive and, quite frankly a desire, to cause him harm. And since the police have arrested the wrong man for the crime, it is up to the genius Nero Wolfe and his able assistant Archie Goodwin to sort out which suspect really did commit the crime. The dialogue is snappy and quick witted. The violence is kept to a minimum. No dramatic car chases or tension filled hostage situation in these stories. It is an investigation, so follow the clues and apply reason and logic to solve the crime. That’s the way Nero Wolfe gets it done.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟

Nero Wolfe is a staple detective series, much like Agatha Christie’s Poirot or Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse. But, on the off chance you haven’t heard of it & weirdly stumbled onto this review to check him out. . .

The original series was written by Rex Stout & Robert Goldsborough, the author of this book, has continued the series. The mysteries are stand alone, so can can be read out of order.

Overall thoughts on THIS mystery, the book synopsis makes it sound like Archie Goodwin is the primary suspect, which is false. Other than that, it’s another good entry into the Nero Wolfe series. I do have questions & thoughts on minor details for continuity, but even if, those are easy to overlook.

I’d give the mystery 3, 3.5 🕵🏻‍♀️

[Jdetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't envy any writer who takes over a series from another author, especially a series that includes as many entries as Nero Wolfe. Unfortunately, this book never really works for me. Goldsborough is close to capturing Rex Stout's voice, but he doesn't quite make it there, and the book includes instances where he seems to completely misunderstand a character or their relationships with other characters. Also, I'm not sure the mystery actually works....the ending was very unsatisfying, with the identity of the culprit seeming to come out of necessity rather than because it made sense or had been set up earlier in the story.

[Homerun2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Robert Goldsborough's continuation of the Rex Stout Nero Wolf series is a qualified success, in my opinion. It's never the same, of course, but I feel he does a creditable job and time spent with Archie Goodwin is always wise-cracking fun.

In this one, someone messes with Goodwin's lady friend Lily Rowan's niece, and is subsequently found beaten to death with a tire iron. The niece's brother confesses, and Nero Wolfe agrees to investigate.

The best series, even if formulaic in some ways, are comforting and familiar, and I definitely would put these books in that pleasurable category.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nero figured it out!

If you like mysteries that are solved by a man in a chair, good thinking quiet ones, then this is your book! Most of the time I can figure them out, but this not only had me stumped, but it seemed as if Nero was also. He made an appology to his client and told her to prove who "did it" may just end in conjecture and not in a conviction. This could certainly have been anyone of many people. How would he prove who was guilty? To get the murderer to confess was the
only way! To do that he needed to be devious.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It becomes a family affair when Lily, Archie's sometimes enamorata, comes to him for help. She needs someone to threaten a young man who has been making advances (and more) toward her niece. Archie does help with that but then becomes a suspect when the young man turns up dead. As do Lily's niece and nephew.
Goldsborough builds out Lily's character a bit more in this book as well as her sister's but otherwise this wasn't a book I enjoyed a lot. I can't really put my finger on why but I think it's because it took so long to get to the mystery and I just wasn't expecting so much exposition.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Lily asks Goodwin to look into the terrible man her neice has been seeing, he ends up on the wrong side of Inspector Cramer after the body the found, leading he and Wolfe to take on the investigation and clear the name of an innocent who has confessed to the murder. Goldsborough will please fans of the classic Stout stories with another enjoyably snarky take on the Wolfe and Goodwin teamup. How can Wolfe prove a man is innocent when the man doesn't want his help?