The President Vanishes

by Rex Stout

President Kidnapped! Hysteria and treason shrouded Washington- the Vice President a virtual prisoner-the Army threatened revolt, the country reeled toward disaster. The whole burden of the search for the President rested on Secret Service agent Chick Moffat."a little too real for comfort" New York Herald Tribune

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

Rex 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.

Reviews

[Geof · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is early Stout that is a political thriller and sort of a mystery as I had no idea why the plot happened even after it was explained by the hero. Perhaps it would have made some sense if I lived in the 1930s when America was contemplating going into another European war, but I did not.

If you are looking for Nero Wolfe-like book this is not for you. I was not looking for that as I have read lots of early Stout and had no such expectations. Still I found it only so-so. If you are into Rex Stout and want to read his early stuff (like I do with most of my favorite authors) this might be for you. Just do not spend a lot of money doing so as this is mediocre.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An over heated pot boiler Washington novel. War clouds are gathering ominously. There's Commies, and Fascists running around.

The President cannot be located. Apparently, he's been kidnapped, and a young couple, firmly ensconced in Washington try to find him.

Turgid.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps it is due to historical time as I am spoiled by thrillers with nonstop action, but this was kind of boring. Lots of old white dudes sitting in rooms talking vaguely about nefarious plans, not much action. Archie Goodwin sees more action on the regular than happened in this book when the friggin' PRESIDENT was KIDNAPPED. There were also SO MANY CHARACTERS, most indistinguishable from one another. I know Stout usually has a lot of folks, Nero Wolfe's office can be full of a dozen at a time, but those folks all seem much better developed than the majority of the senators/business owners/government and military officials/etc. found in this book.

Also, even at the end of this book, I still asked myself... "So WHY was he kidnapped?"... What did this achieve?

[Adrian Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

from my uncle. The president vanishes in order to avoid declaring war. It was a fun little book but not particularly memorable.

[Doug M · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the brink of war, the President of the United States is kidnapped, and government officials scheme. I'm not sure why the events of the book even happened, and frankly, I don't care.

[Sun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rex Stout, generally known as the creator of Nero Wolfe, wrote plenty of other stuff. He tried his hand at both literature and pulp fiction before settling on the alter ego of Archie Goodwin. Reading the non-Wolfe work only serves to highlight the perfect synthesis of style and medium in the Wolfe stories and also to note what a great influence Jane Austen (yes, Jane Austen) had on Stout's writing.

Published in 1934, this is a political thriller in which the US president disappears - just when war is looming. It was moderately successful when first published (anonymously) and quickly turned into a successful film. The twist is sadly quite obvious from the first, although I think the subject matter is still topical as are the divided opinions. The book suffers somewhat from the large cast of men in suits (politicians, senators, Secret Service) and it takes some time to match the names to the motives. Where it excels is in the people: the megalomaniacal Lincoln Lee, the delivery boy Val Orcutt and the dialogue between Secret Service man Chick Moffat and the unknowing Alma. This is one to read again on a rainy day.

[Yacoob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Na Stouta hodně slabé.