Death of an Art Collector

Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Mysteries #14

by Robert Goldsborough

An art hoarder’s suspicious death paints a nasty picture for Nero Wolfe.

No matter how fabulously he’s being courted, infamously dour “art hog” Arthur Wordell isn’t keen on favoring the new Guggenheim Museum with his extensive collection. Even at the urging of his beloved daughter, Nadia. Then, the night after the museum’s fête, Arthur takes a twenty-story plunge from the window of his Times Square office. Nadia thinks it’s no mere coincidence.
 
Eccentric, yes. Suicidal, no. Private investigator Nero Wolfe and his assistant, Archie Goodwin, agree. Especially after eyeballing Arthur’s enemies and sycophants, including his ex-wife, a covetous curator, a troika of obsequious advisors, and an outré Greenwich Village artist anxious to see her work out of storage and on the walls of the “Guggie.”
 
For Wolfe, there’s a problem: Arthur didn’t leave a will. Without a beneficiary not a soul in Arthur’s circle is set to benefit from his death. Nor do they show any customary indication of guilt. If anybody can solve a seemingly unsolvable masterpiece of murder, it’s Wolfe. Unfortunately, this time, New York’s artful investigator is, admittedly, stumped.
 
Continuing the acclaimed series—which also includes The Battered Badge, Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, Murder in the Ball Park, Archie in the Crosshairs, and Murder, Stage Left—Nero Award–winning author Robert Goldsborough “does a masterly job with the Wolfe legacy” (Booklist).
 

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Mystery

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2019

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

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the opening pages (even if you didn’t read the book’s title) it is clear who is going to be the victim, though we have to wait a while for the body to be discovered. You can guess who pushed the victim out the window of his 20th floor Manhattan office, but there won’t be enough to substantiate your surmise.

Most of us will, like Wolfe himself, be puzzled even after the usual gathering of suspects in the office of Wolfe’s brownstone. That is the difference in this volume compared to the usual resolutions. Wolfe does not reveal his “genius” for weaving the clues together. And Archie Goodwin has to apologize for mistakes that were made.

One of the best things about this book is that we get more background on Archie’s ongoing romance with Lily Rowan. Having read the book and listened to the audible version, as well, I was disappointed with the reader, L.J. Glasner. The only characterization I found that added to the text was that of Inspector Cramer.

You may feel differently, because I have listened to many characterizations of Wolfe, Goodwin and Cramer since the start of the series, the radio shows, the television mini-series, etc.

[Judy Lesley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read several of Robert Goldsborough's continuations of the Rex Stout Nero Wolfe mysteries and, while definitely not a Rex Stout book, at least they were an interesting reading experience. This one absolutely did not work on much of any level for me. If you are a reader who likes to try to spot the clues along the way, forget that because there aren't any clues hidden anyplace in the whole book. If you were expecting a nicely plotted mystery to keep your mind busy, forget that too because I don't think there is a plot to this book. So, you ask, how can a book have no clues and no plot? Well, simply by introducing someone who will be a victim, introduce people he was associated with and keep telling their same boring stories until you reach some magical number of pages. Then you can gather everybody together for a classic Nero Wolfe confrontation and have it all fizzle to more nothing. Wow, this book was a real disappointment for me.

For some unknown reason Mr. Goldsborough seemed to think that using contractions would lower the tone of his story. Or maybe he would reach that mythical page number sooner by spelling out all words. What he actually accomplished was to form dialogue that would have been clunky, stilted and uninspired even if it had taken place in the 1950's. And what in the world was with having everybody telling Archie the meaning of words or congratulating him on using a vocabulary word that would be pretty much common to most 12 year old children? Archie was never presented as a dunce in the original stories and I don't understand portraying him in that way in this book. Another problem is that the timeline wobbles all over the place in this story. Enough, you get the idea.

Unfortunately, not a success for me and I really can't recommend this story.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, I'll keep on reading Goldsborough. It's not as though Rex Stout is turning out new books, after all. But this is not one of the stronger of the Nero Wolfe pastiches. A fabulously wealthy curmudgeon of an art collector dies mysteriously, and his daughter is convinced it's murder. She hires Wolfe, who possibly never figures out who-dunnit; he has a confrontation with all the suspects and one gives him-or-herself away. Did Wolfe deduce, or was he just lucky? And why does Goldsborough eschew contractions, even in dialogue? It gives speakers a formal, unnatural tone.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5
This was a very frustrating read. Goldsborough's second run with the Wolfe series has been very uneven, to say the least. The previous book in the series was the best since Goldsborough's return to the series after a couple of disappointing entries but now this book turned out to be the worst. None of the characters acted like themselves, the mystery was half-baked. It was poorly paced, resolved, and just badly handled in general, and nearly everything that I go to a Wolfe mystery for was missing. Even the annoying additions Goldsborough added to the characters were largely missing or crammed into the first few chapters.

[Ken Mattes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 14tj Novel in the Goldsborough continuation of the Nero Wolfe stories originally authored by Rex Stout.
The story is set in the 1950’s and premise rests on finding out who may have killed a curmudgeon art collector who was being pressured to donate his collection the the new Guggenheim Art Museum.
An interesting twist at the end.

[Abibliofob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best book in the series but it is still Nero Wolfe and I love the characters. This one is set in the fifties right before the Guggenheim opens in New York and there is a great meeting between misters Wolfe and Frank Lloyd Wright.

[Rob Jacobs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Goldsborough makes a gallant try, but repeating cliches from the original Wolfe novels just doesn't cut it. It is always just enough off to be disconcerting. I WANT to like these, I would love for there to be more Wolfe novels, but this just doesn't cut it.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but not as good as the Nero Wolfe by Goldsborough I read previously. Archie is too verbose. There's too much Lily Rowan. And where is Archie's glass of milk? ;-)

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, bumped up to 4.0 stars, because I like visiting the Guggenheim.

[Paula R. C. Readman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters, great plot.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The majority of DEATH OF AN ART COLLECTOR is about the characters. There are no other clues to work from.

[Diane K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is fairly readable. I tend to judge these stories by whether or not the plotline is interesting enough to overcome the inevitable errors that fret at me. This one did not. One of the irritants involved the timing of Wolfe's interviews. He has never really liked conducting them after dinner; that's saved for people who cannot get there earlier in the day. Yet here, he specifically orders Archie to try for the 9:00 hour for practically everyone. In addition to that, he opts for preferably one interview per day. I have known Wolfe to arrange for people to come in all day long--at 11, at 2 (after lunch) at 6 (after the afternoon orchid session) and finally at 9. In one instance here, Archie sets up the appointment fairly early in the day, which presumably left the entire remainder of the day with nothing to do but update orchid records and putter around the office. He didn't even bother to take the time to set up the following day's appointment.

One thing that literally fretted at me through the entire book was the cause of death. Goldsborough wanted a death that could plausibly be considered an accident, if not suicide, but his choice simply does not work for me. Consider any old-style office building that you have ever seen (and this was a building already old). They do not spring for huge windows. Generally, they are simply double-square rectangles, with the lower square able to slide up even with the upper square. Now visualize yourself trying to sit on that ledge (recalling that you are 200 feet up!) Just trying to lever your second leg up and over the sill will present problems. Then your face smacks into the upper square of glass, and you have to bend and twist to get your torso out in front, leaving yourself hunched over, trying to keep the lower edge of the window from digging into your shoulders. Really comfortable, yes? And the slightest movement will likely send you flying for the pavement. And how do you get back inside? It's not surprising that the police considered it an accident. It's ridiculous that nearly everyone else denied the possibility merely because the victim was healthy and strong and had good balance. About the only person who could sit comfortably in a place like that would be a toddler.

The plotline was otherwise pretty interesting. If he was murdered, was it for financial reasons, or simply because the man was an obnoxious old fart? However, it got tedious with the multiple interviews all sounding more or less the same. The ending was startling, but contrived. The killer's motive was plausible--once we got all the details. There was no hint why he was so frantic to achieve his ambition, such as an indication that he was having financial difficulties and really needed what he was asking for. Archie carefully lists all the reasons for the climactic debacle, and it comes out as just too many coincidental mistakes.

Goldsborough doesn't seem to have much imagination when it comes to menus. Stout rarely repeated meals (breakfasts being the exception). I've read three books in a row that included raspberries in sherry cream. There's also a strong preference for scallops. I've also noticed in several books that Wolfe scuttles out from an interview with the statement that he has another appointment--which turns out to be munching the leftovers of the evening meal. Rather oddly for a man who loves his food, Wolfe very rarely ate anything between dinner and breakfast. (Actually, I've always wondered what happened to leftovers in this household, since each meal is always something new. Maybe Fritz freezes them and serves them between books.)

Goldsborough mentions the "enmity" between Archie and Purley Stebbins; he seems to be mistaking Purley for Rowcliff. I've mentioned this before. Here I will add, as I have recently read through the earlier Goldsborough books, that in one of those earlier books Goldsborough states quite clearly that Archie and Purley have a mutual, if grudging, respect for each other. Where did the animus (to use a favorite Wolfe word) come from?

I will confess that I enjoy Archie's "wrap-up" at the end of the story, even though Stout rarely bothered. However, this one has a blooper. Months have passed since the end of the story; at least 6 months (assuming that Frank Lloyd Wright died shortly after his meeting with Wolfe.) The innocent bystanders have gone on with their lives, the museum has had its grand opening. All of this is past and done, and suddenly Archie speaks of going out "tonight" with Lily Rowan, the occasion being that Archie has now healed from his injuries during the above mentioned debacle. Said injuries were not too severe; stitches are mentioned, and a concussion can be inferred (not implied!) But Archie needs to see Doc Vollmer to find out what illness is causing him to heal so incredibly slowly--over six months???? Having stated that their dinner is "tonight" Archie suddenly changes back to past tense as he recounts the evening, which just doesn't sound right.

I do overall like these books, nitpicks and all. However, this is definitely not one of the better ones.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read many dozens of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe novels but I kept seeing Goldsborough’s name coming up with Nero Wolfe books. I do know that sometimes when an author is dead someone else takes up the series and refreshes it, bringing the fictional world into the more modern world or at least updating in terms of time a bit. I have a resistance to this idea but still I wanted to give this book a chance. It was on sale so it didn’t seem like much of a risk. Sad to say I was aware all the way through it that it doesn’t sound like a Nero Wolfe book to me. All of the tropes are in there yes, but the way it’s written doesn’t ring true of either Archie or Wolfe. It also felt like there was an awful lot of padding in this story. Everyone suspect interviewed said the same thing. I couldn’t distinguish most of the male suspects from one another. Fighting my disliking this book for the most part, I’ve actually just bought another one, number 1 in the series written by Goldborough. I’ll give this series one more chance to see how it goes because maybe it’s just the book that I’ve just read. Usually the first in the series is going to be the best because it’s got to draw in readers, so maybe I’ll change my mind and have a different experience with book 1. But if it’s like this and leaves me feeling like I’m not really reading a Nero Wolfe story but a poor imitation, that will be the end.

[Bmj2k · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to read the Goldsborough continuation of the Nero Wolfe series because it is comfort food. However, this book, like many recently, is simply repetitive to the point of padding.

- Archie is at an event where he describes the main characters and has described to him their relationship to the soon-be-murdered man.

- After the murder, Archie describes them and their relationships to the victim to Wolfe.

- Each comes one by one to the brownstone and again we are treated to who they are and their relationship to the deceased. And every single person says the same thing about the others.

Eventually you will have read the same thing five times. In this book Lon Cohen gets called a few times and adds nothing, apparently because it is part of the formula that Archie calls Lon. There are no clues, nothing to point to the murderer, and even Wolfe is just hoping the murderer reveals himself when the murder simply does reveal himself.

The less said about the victims ridiculous habit of sitting on a window ledge in a tall building the better. And for some reason, Frank Lloyd Wright is written disrespectfully and is the target of Wolfe's dislike, for no apparent cause.

This is better than recent books like Archie Goes Home but not as good as many of Goldsborough's earlier books.

[William Dury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good one. Goldsborough is veering off from a rigid Rex Stout template, and it’s fascinating to watch. Frank Lloyd Wright makes a guest appearance, and he’s an arrogant, unlikeable man. Nice touch.

Goldsborough’s Wolfe is spot on. I find him indistinguishable from Stout’s. His Archie, though, is a little bit dumb. I’m not sure what that’s about. He isn’t blatantly drinking, like he did in the earlier Goldsboroughs (independent streak on Goldsborough’s part?), nor does he pointedly drink milk like he does in the Stout novels (sly satire of the hard drinking Chandler and Hammet heros?) Much is made of Archie’s expanding vocabulary a bit of business which I am also mystified by, but I guess it’s part of the “dumb Archie” trope. Supporting characters much like the Stout originals, once again, to my ignorant, easily fooled eye, pretty indistinguishable from the originals.

Wildly rich curmudgeonly art collector killed, likely by one of his feuding, unhappy associates. That he used to sit on his office window ledge and gaze out across the city, legs dangling, many stories above the ground, I find eccentric and unlikely; and it somehow works very nicely. An impressive bit a business. Even more impressive-it appears that Wolfe didn’t quite figure this one out. Nice. Now, if we could just get rid of that “Escamillo” thing.

[CJ Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently saw that my first review of the continued series was quite effusive, and am sad to say that this has waned over the course of the 16 books. There was an intricate pattern to the spider webs Rex Stout could weave which brought order to convolution - and which the new plots lack. Not to mention I feel that I am listening to a greatest hits album on repeat; while pleasant at first it has become forced and a tad boring. Stout saw no need to have Wolfe deliver the “intelligence led by experience” line in every book, and yet, here it is again and again. My love for the main characters is such that I do keep on with the series, but I still much rather Stout’s work.

I do not envy the position of a writer taking up a mantle of a previous series - you are dealing with a facsimile of the characters and photocopying again and again will dull the edges until they are no longer sharp. Stout knew his characters well enough to take them off the well-tread route when needed and deliver a change to their approach; it must be difficult to do that while in the position of paying homage to those originals.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Nero Wolfe book I've read. It isn't great literature, but more of a laid-back, dignified form of murder mystery. I enjoyed it as a mental respite from the last couple non-fiction books I've read. Wolfe, a wealthy, obese, beer-drinking, orchid-collecting genius rarely leaves his home, leaving all the footwork up to his dogsbody Archie Goodwin. Archie narrates the story, kind of like a Watson to Wolfe's Holmes. Wolfe isn't exactly a misogynist, but I'm amused by how women perplex him. "I have told you on more than on occasion that I find women to be astonishing and successful animals."

In this book of the series, an unpopular art collector falls from a 20th floor window ledge he'd been perching on for years to watch the city. The question is whether it was accidental or if he was pushed. In classic mystery fashion, Wolfe interviews suspects one by one, then calls them altogether to unveil the perpetrator.

I may read more of this series in the future when I need little "reading vacations." I kept picturing events in the book in black and white, with all the characters speaking in the posh accents of the old 1930's-40's movies.

[Gregory Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting.... Mr. Goldsborough covered a lot of the history from Mr. Stout's novels, and even brought in all the familiar mannerisms of Archie and Nero throughout this story. I was very impressed with how he did that. Others have made comments on some of the other stories written by Mr. Goldsborough relating to this series that have not been very enthusiastic, etc. Only having read his earlier books in the series (and not really having any problem with them), yet not having gotten ahold of his latter books, except for this one (and maybe another that my mind is not letting me remember at this moment), I cannot comment of this particular one. And it was pretty darn good!

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rex Stout fans will be disappointed by Goldsborough's Nero Wolfe mystery. This story features Lily Rowan as an integral character and she is as lusterless as this rendition of Archie and Wolfe. I have read other Goldsborough Nero Wolfe novels---some more successful than others, and this was perhaps the most disappointing.

The usual repartee between Wolfe and Archie was totally lifeless in this book, and Archie's conversation with Miss Rowan was similarly stilted. I don't know what happened to Robert Goldsborough's mastery of contemporary Nero Wolfe stories, but this book does not do justice to either the author or Rex Stout's legacy.

Definitely Unsatisfactory.

[Dorothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this book. It was the first Nero Wolfe book I had read. I thought Wolfe was stuffy and unlikeable. I found the discussions about word definitions tedious. The story moved along very slowly, almost entirely based on conversations. I guessed the murderer about halfway through, based on the descriptions of the characters. At some point I may read another Nero Wolfe book, perhaps one by the original Wolfe author. In the meantime, there are too many good mystery series out there to spend more time on this one.

[Alice Segura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good successor

Mr Goldsborough continues writing stories about Nero Wolf. I’m glad as Rex Stout started a series that shouldn’t end. A very disagreeable man supposedly falls out of a window. No one believes it was murder except his daughter. Nor does Nero, but not a clue in sight. An interesting ending with Archie taking, I believe, his first tumble. I enjoyed the wrapping up of loose threads at the end.

[Leona · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I love the characters in these books, I didn't think there was enough mystery. We're given absolutely no clues as to the identity of the murderer. At the big wrap, when all the suspects are gathered and we're supposed to enjoy the brilliance of Nero Wolfe as he reveals the identity of the killer, that doesn't happen here. Instead, the murderer flees the room, clearly identifying who killed the art collector. The ending was very disappointing.

[Kay Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun entry in Goldsborough's continuation of the Nero Wolfe series. This one involves an accident, suicide, or murder puzzle, the usual eccentric suspects, and Wolfe's reluctance, as always, to exert himself. Set in the late 1950s--Goldsborough jumps around, and you can read these books in any order.

[Billhotto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goldsborough catches the feeling of Rex Stout's characters, which is the most important thing in the Nero Wolfe stories. He adds real events and characters. Here it's 1958, the construction of the Gugenheim Museum is on the way. Frank Lloyd Wright makes an appearance at Wolfe's brownstone. it seems that neither genius is impressed with the other.

[Arliss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yep - Goldsborough is finally getting there. He still writes Lily terribly but his dialog between Archie and Nero no longer kills the book. This plot was fun and the side characters could have been written by Stout. Overall, I had a good time. This book is a solid 3.5. I rounded up.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Archie and Nero Wolfe - always fun

A particularly dislikable art collector dies falling from a window. Accident? Suicide? Murder? Nero Wolfe takes on the investigation, once again introducing a bunch of interesting characters into out lives.

[HenriettaLee Levins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Kept my interest throughout. Liked the New York background when the Guggenheim was being built and all the characters of that time

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very good read and I can see myself reading more by this author. A very old-fashioned style of murder mystery.

[Captain Basil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goldsborough still has what it takes to continue Rex Stout's classic series. This was a great addition to the Wolfe Canon.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh - too much dated sexism