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Nero Wolfe Mysteries #5, 31
Too Many Cooks/Champagne for One
A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America’s greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of fiction’s greatest detectives. In this pair of classic Nero Wolfe mysteries, Stout is at his unparalleled best as the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth and his trusty man-about-town, Archie Goodwin, are served two lethally appetizing cases.
Too Many Cooks
Everyone knows that too many cooks spoil the broth, but you’d hardly expect it to lead to murder. But that’s exactly what’s on the menu at a five-star gathering of the world’s greatest chefs. As guest of honor, Wolfe was lured from his brownstone to a posh southern spa to deliver the keynote address. He never expected that between courses of haute cuisine he and Archie would be compelled to detect a killer with a poison touch—a killer preparing to serve the great detective his last supper.
Champgne for One
Faith Usher talked about taking her own life and even kept cyanide in her purse. So when she died from a lethal champagne cocktail in the middle of a high society dinner party, everyone called it suicide—including the police. But Nero Wolfe isn’t convinced—and neither is Archie. Especially when Wolfe is warned by four men against taking the case. Deception, blackmail, and a killer who may have pulled off the perfect crime…it’s a challenge Nero Wolfe can’t resist.
Too Many Cooks
Everyone knows that too many cooks spoil the broth, but you’d hardly expect it to lead to murder. But that’s exactly what’s on the menu at a five-star gathering of the world’s greatest chefs. As guest of honor, Wolfe was lured from his brownstone to a posh southern spa to deliver the keynote address. He never expected that between courses of haute cuisine he and Archie would be compelled to detect a killer with a poison touch—a killer preparing to serve the great detective his last supper.
Champgne for One
Faith Usher talked about taking her own life and even kept cyanide in her purse. So when she died from a lethal champagne cocktail in the middle of a high society dinner party, everyone called it suicide—including the police. But Nero Wolfe isn’t convinced—and neither is Archie. Especially when Wolfe is warned by four men against taking the case. Deception, blackmail, and a killer who may have pulled off the perfect crime…it’s a challenge Nero Wolfe can’t resist.
416 pages, Paperback
First published April 28, 2009
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139 people want to read
About the author
Rex Stout
835 books1,031 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 33 reviews
June 17, 2016
The publisher seems to have put these two Nero Wolfe novels together because they both have culinary themes. But it's a bit of an odd mix, as they were written 20 years apart. Also, they have both been reproduced from earlier editions, which means the type for the second novel is much bigger and easier to read than for the first one.
I wasn't very keen on Too Many Cooks, which is one of the weaker Stout novels I've read so far, but I loved Champagne for One, so really my rating should be 2 stars for the earlier book and 4 for the later one. In the first novel, Wolfe for once steps out of his brownstone and accompanies Archie to a battle of the chefs, which is inevitably disrupted by murder. I thought it would be fun to have the characters out of their normal milieu, but in fact I don't think it works all that well. There also really are too many cooks, as it was hard to keep track of all the potential suspects. Racial stereotyping is another problem.
By contrast, Champagne for One is a delight. With Wolfe safely back home with his orchids, Archie has plenty of scope to enjoy his role as man about town. He is invited to a party with champagne cocktails on offer, but once again there's murder on the menu and a complicated plot ensues. The supporting characters are much more individual in this one than in Too Many Cooks, and the dialogue is wonderfully witty, including a classic confrontation between Wolfe and Archie.
I wasn't very keen on Too Many Cooks, which is one of the weaker Stout novels I've read so far, but I loved Champagne for One, so really my rating should be 2 stars for the earlier book and 4 for the later one. In the first novel, Wolfe for once steps out of his brownstone and accompanies Archie to a battle of the chefs, which is inevitably disrupted by murder. I thought it would be fun to have the characters out of their normal milieu, but in fact I don't think it works all that well. There also really are too many cooks, as it was hard to keep track of all the potential suspects. Racial stereotyping is another problem.
By contrast, Champagne for One is a delight. With Wolfe safely back home with his orchids, Archie has plenty of scope to enjoy his role as man about town. He is invited to a party with champagne cocktails on offer, but once again there's murder on the menu and a complicated plot ensues. The supporting characters are much more individual in this one than in Too Many Cooks, and the dialogue is wonderfully witty, including a classic confrontation between Wolfe and Archie.
October 12, 2019
I don't remember Archie being such an out and out racist, but apparently my memory and the times have both changed. But really, even back then it was way over the top. It's too bad, because the story elements of this Nero Wolfe book are excellent. But I just can't stomach the racial epithets and crudity.
Abandoned 25% of the way into it. Just couldn't take it.
Abandoned 25% of the way into it. Just couldn't take it.
April 11, 2012
Worthwhile though not top-flight Stout... The books are two decades apart, and the first, "Too Many Cooks" (1938), is interestingly symptomatic of its time: lots of racial slurs, the fact that the murder is committed in blackface(!), a key scene where Wolfe extracts information from the black help at a resort... and also (like Hitch's "The Lady Vanishes") the international cast of characters has an ominous feel given the looming spectre of WW2. The later book, "Champagne for One", has a neat setup--the puzzle of how Faith Usher could be murdered by a poisoned glass of champagne when the murderer couldn't have been certain of who would get the glass. The earlier book is the stronger by dint of more memorable characters and much higher stakes--no, not the murder and its solution, but the question of whether Nero Wolfe will elicit the recipe for saucisse minuit from a recalcitrant chef.
January 15, 2016
Don't read Stout for the mystery; read him for the sake of Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin and New York in the 30s. Too Many Cooks was one of his weaker efforts I felt, particularly since it was set in West Virginia (instead of Nero Wolfe's and Archie's stomping ground, NYC). But Champagne for One pulled up the score to four for this omnibus.
December 29, 2022
[Note: Although I read the first title in this edition, I have saved the second to read when I get to that title in the order in which they were published.]
Part of my goals over the last year and a half is occasionally working a classic Nero Wolfe mystery from Rex Stout into my rotation. The goal is to read them in order and Too Many Cooks is supposed to be the fifth in the series. Unfortunately, the only copy I could find was a double-edition with Champagne for One. I say, unfortunately, because the latter is the thirtieth in the series as far as I can tell. So, I’ll have to wait till later to finish this volume.
Meanwhile, Too Many Cooks establishes a perfect setting for Nero Wolfe, idiosyncratic and self-indulgent gourmand/detective. Told, as usual, through the narrative of assistant Archie Goodwin, Too Many Cooks begins with an improbable (for Wolfe, at least) train trip to a luxury resort where 10 of 15 “masters” [equivalent to Michelin’s top-rated chefs] are vying for bragging rights among their peers. The eventual mystery is foreshadowed by having nearly all of the attendees believing that the [Hey! It’s so obvious that this isn’t even a spoiler.] victim has stolen from them in some way, from recipes to wives and daughters.
What wasn’t as enjoyable for me was Archie’s deliberately boorish sense of humor in attempting to confuse people with obvious misinformation. It is one thing to exaggerate with an intent to let people in ,on the joke, but simply to obfuscate and prevaricate (Wolfe would appreciate my diction there) with no motivation, no goal? It seems unnecessarily cruel and useless. In this “episode,” it wasn’t even amusing.
Don’t get me wrong, though. There are interesting bits of dialogue in between Wolfe’s recalcitrance to do anything reasonable and Archie’s boorishness. For example, I loved it when a potential suspect said that he wasn’t even glad that the victim was dead. In the best line I’ve read/heard since “Revenge is a dish best served cold,” the character said that “…death doth not heal, it amputates.” (p. 55) At another point, I smiled because of Wolfe’s predilection for not voluntarily moving very far from his chair. He surprises Archie with a willingness to not only move, but move early, saying: “What the tongue has promised the body must submit to.” (p. 79) Although he is deliberately enigmatic himself, Archie gets frustrated with Wolfe’s mysterious ways, complaining: “…once again I had to follow his tail light [sic] without knowing the road.” (pp. 81-82)
Now, part of the beauty of reading a book written in a given era is that one learns more about that era. Though born in a later decade, I seem to very much enjoy books, films, and music from the ‘30s and ‘40s. Too Many Cooks, originally published in 1938, should fit that bill. Sadly, some of the books from that era reveal something I would rather not have seen. The racial discrimination is evident when a U.S.-born Chinese woman says that the police wouldn’t listen to her because she was Chinese (p. 87). It is also prevalent on p. 21 when the security guard for the resort refers to African Americans by the familiar “n-“ epithet (and on p. 94 when Archie demeans the kitchen staff as “blackbirds,” as well as on p. 123 when the sheriff returns to the familiar denigration Fortunately, Wolfe treats them with respect on p. 102 when he states that many of them are more American than he is. Still, by that time, the hard lesson about U.S. attitudes has been re-learned. I certainly knew it, having seen segregated rest rooms and drinking fountains in the South of my youth, but Archie isn’t from the South. Still, Archie uses the derogative “pickaninnies” on p. 107. I would criticize the publisher if they bowdlerized the text of this novel for modern sensibilities, but the usage in this novel among such sophisticates cut me to the quick (and that’s probably as it should be).
As for the mystery itself, I can’t say why without creating a spoiler, but I was both right and wrong about the motivation for the murder and the person or persons carrying it out. The clues were there and, in general, the foreshadowing should have been clear enough for me to make a clean sweep of solving the mystery. As it was, I disregarded the significance of a key statement and the importance of a seeming insignificant action. So, I was very satisfied the central conundrum, just unsettled by some of the historical and sociological realism.
Part of my goals over the last year and a half is occasionally working a classic Nero Wolfe mystery from Rex Stout into my rotation. The goal is to read them in order and Too Many Cooks is supposed to be the fifth in the series. Unfortunately, the only copy I could find was a double-edition with Champagne for One. I say, unfortunately, because the latter is the thirtieth in the series as far as I can tell. So, I’ll have to wait till later to finish this volume.
Meanwhile, Too Many Cooks establishes a perfect setting for Nero Wolfe, idiosyncratic and self-indulgent gourmand/detective. Told, as usual, through the narrative of assistant Archie Goodwin, Too Many Cooks begins with an improbable (for Wolfe, at least) train trip to a luxury resort where 10 of 15 “masters” [equivalent to Michelin’s top-rated chefs] are vying for bragging rights among their peers. The eventual mystery is foreshadowed by having nearly all of the attendees believing that the [Hey! It’s so obvious that this isn’t even a spoiler.] victim has stolen from them in some way, from recipes to wives and daughters.
What wasn’t as enjoyable for me was Archie’s deliberately boorish sense of humor in attempting to confuse people with obvious misinformation. It is one thing to exaggerate with an intent to let people in ,on the joke, but simply to obfuscate and prevaricate (Wolfe would appreciate my diction there) with no motivation, no goal? It seems unnecessarily cruel and useless. In this “episode,” it wasn’t even amusing.
Don’t get me wrong, though. There are interesting bits of dialogue in between Wolfe’s recalcitrance to do anything reasonable and Archie’s boorishness. For example, I loved it when a potential suspect said that he wasn’t even glad that the victim was dead. In the best line I’ve read/heard since “Revenge is a dish best served cold,” the character said that “…death doth not heal, it amputates.” (p. 55) At another point, I smiled because of Wolfe’s predilection for not voluntarily moving very far from his chair. He surprises Archie with a willingness to not only move, but move early, saying: “What the tongue has promised the body must submit to.” (p. 79) Although he is deliberately enigmatic himself, Archie gets frustrated with Wolfe’s mysterious ways, complaining: “…once again I had to follow his tail light [sic] without knowing the road.” (pp. 81-82)
Now, part of the beauty of reading a book written in a given era is that one learns more about that era. Though born in a later decade, I seem to very much enjoy books, films, and music from the ‘30s and ‘40s. Too Many Cooks, originally published in 1938, should fit that bill. Sadly, some of the books from that era reveal something I would rather not have seen. The racial discrimination is evident when a U.S.-born Chinese woman says that the police wouldn’t listen to her because she was Chinese (p. 87). It is also prevalent on p. 21 when the security guard for the resort refers to African Americans by the familiar “n-“ epithet (and on p. 94 when Archie demeans the kitchen staff as “blackbirds,” as well as on p. 123 when the sheriff returns to the familiar denigration Fortunately, Wolfe treats them with respect on p. 102 when he states that many of them are more American than he is. Still, by that time, the hard lesson about U.S. attitudes has been re-learned. I certainly knew it, having seen segregated rest rooms and drinking fountains in the South of my youth, but Archie isn’t from the South. Still, Archie uses the derogative “pickaninnies” on p. 107. I would criticize the publisher if they bowdlerized the text of this novel for modern sensibilities, but the usage in this novel among such sophisticates cut me to the quick (and that’s probably as it should be).
As for the mystery itself, I can’t say why without creating a spoiler, but I was both right and wrong about the motivation for the murder and the person or persons carrying it out. The clues were there and, in general, the foreshadowing should have been clear enough for me to make a clean sweep of solving the mystery. As it was, I disregarded the significance of a key statement and the importance of a seeming insignificant action. So, I was very satisfied the central conundrum, just unsettled by some of the historical and sociological realism.
September 17, 2019
My second (and third!) Nero Wolfe novels, as this is a two-for-one edition. The novels were written 20 some years apart, but they both have a culinary theme, which is I imagine why they were paired together. I started on the first novel, Too Many Cooks, on two very long travel days back from France. How appropriate that Wolfe also travels in this novel, something very out of character for a man who never leaves the house. He takes a train with that ever reliable Archie Goodwin to attend a gastronomical conventional. The fifteen best chefs in the world (Les Quinze Maitres) gather every five years, at the location/preference of the oldest member among them. This time the setting is a resort spa in West Virginia in the 1930s. Wolfe is invited as a guest and to give the closing night remarks on the significance of American cooking on international cuisine. But in the interim... one of the chefs is murdered and Wolfe is reluctantly pulled into the investigation, largely based on his personal motivation to track down a sausage recipe when one of his favorite chefs is implicated.
The mystery is tight, once again Stout/Wolfe surprised me with the motive and killer. This novel is complicated by Wolfe's outright disdain for one of the females suspects, and the abundant use of the n word. For the first issue, I haven't read enough Wolfe novels yet to know if he's a full-fledged misogynist, but I don't get that impression. There was one woman specifically that he took issue with, and enumerated solid, rationale reasons for that opinion, showing he was thoughtful and self-aware when forming his opinions and that it was particular to this woman, and not a broad contempt for the whole sex. That's my hope, because otherwise it would seriously diminish my enjoyment of the series and respect for the character and author.
For the second claim, you could make the same remark of Twain in writing Huck Finn. In the case of Stout, I think he's just writing the characters as they were likely to feel at the time, prejudices and all. As Wolfe prepares to interview the entire wait staff en masse (all African-American), which Archie challenges him on as he can't see the logic in a group interview, Wolfe resolutely persists. He begins with getting everyone refreshments, like a civil host, and says as a prelude: "I've already made assumptions about all of you based on your race, and you've all made assumptions about me based on my race, so what we're going to have to do is just put our prejudices aside for one night and cooperate with each other so I can figure out who killed Laszio."
Wolfe shows sensitivity in trying to preserve their jobs and doesn't patronize or bully the wait staff, a stark contrast from the local sheriff, who Wolfe has little patience for by the end of the case and even gives the sheriff a dressing down because his approach failed to elicit the essential clues.
I'll be briefer with the Champagne for One review. How could I not adore it, when champagne features so predominantly in the story? Archie was particularly zingy with the one-liners in this one, the sidekicks are called in and get to shine, and there's some fairly good punches from the female characters to counteract the misogyny, which appears to be a pattern at this point. I loved the last scene with all the prime suspects clustered in Wolfe's office as they re-enact the last round of drinks at the cocktail party and the moment of poisoning. The big reveal on the killer was a complete surprise and highly entertaining.
Still looking forward to reading more of these, and will try to start reading them in order at some point!
The mystery is tight, once again Stout/Wolfe surprised me with the motive and killer. This novel is complicated by Wolfe's outright disdain for one of the females suspects, and the abundant use of the n word. For the first issue, I haven't read enough Wolfe novels yet to know if he's a full-fledged misogynist, but I don't get that impression. There was one woman specifically that he took issue with, and enumerated solid, rationale reasons for that opinion, showing he was thoughtful and self-aware when forming his opinions and that it was particular to this woman, and not a broad contempt for the whole sex. That's my hope, because otherwise it would seriously diminish my enjoyment of the series and respect for the character and author.
For the second claim, you could make the same remark of Twain in writing Huck Finn. In the case of Stout, I think he's just writing the characters as they were likely to feel at the time, prejudices and all. As Wolfe prepares to interview the entire wait staff en masse (all African-American), which Archie challenges him on as he can't see the logic in a group interview, Wolfe resolutely persists. He begins with getting everyone refreshments, like a civil host, and says as a prelude: "I've already made assumptions about all of you based on your race, and you've all made assumptions about me based on my race, so what we're going to have to do is just put our prejudices aside for one night and cooperate with each other so I can figure out who killed Laszio."
Wolfe shows sensitivity in trying to preserve their jobs and doesn't patronize or bully the wait staff, a stark contrast from the local sheriff, who Wolfe has little patience for by the end of the case and even gives the sheriff a dressing down because his approach failed to elicit the essential clues.
I'll be briefer with the Champagne for One review. How could I not adore it, when champagne features so predominantly in the story? Archie was particularly zingy with the one-liners in this one, the sidekicks are called in and get to shine, and there's some fairly good punches from the female characters to counteract the misogyny, which appears to be a pattern at this point. I loved the last scene with all the prime suspects clustered in Wolfe's office as they re-enact the last round of drinks at the cocktail party and the moment of poisoning. The big reveal on the killer was a complete surprise and highly entertaining.
Still looking forward to reading more of these, and will try to start reading them in order at some point!
May 1, 2020
First off, let's have Wikipedia describe who this Nero Wolfe character is: "Nero Wolfe is a fictional character, a brilliant, oversized, eccentric armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery writer Rex Stout. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West 35th Street in New York City, and he is loath to leave his home for business or anything that would keep him from reading his books, tending his orchids, or eating the gourmet meals prepared by his chef. Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's sharp-witted, dapper young confidential assistant with an eye for women, narrates the cases and does the legwork for the detective." Now, there are 33 Wolfe novels about, TV series galore, and novellas to boot. When I was a small boy, some 30 years ago, I would see them published in the venerable Saturday Evening Post. And yet, this classic detective character's story did NOT resonate with me. When Wolfe, for once not inside his Manhattan brownstone, but at a gourmet convention, is called upon to solve the murder of a chef, trouble ensues, not in the story per se, but in the amount of its characters. Thoroughly confused after 42 pages, I went back over the few chapters I read, only to discover that I had been introduced to 40 people! Too much! Too many. I could not keep them straight! And there were a few 'suspect racial references herein as well; I suppose in 1938 the term 'picaninnie' was in vogue, but I had to wince nonetheless! But the biggest mystery was why Lena Horne, a divine chanteuse, wrote an introduction to this omnibus edition. But no 'spoilers' here!
March 18, 2024
finished 17th march 2024 good read three stars i liked it kindle library loaner two stories from stout, nero wolfe. have read maybe ten of the nero wolfe stories and they all follow the same course different details some problem wolfe is called upon to solve and wolfe rarely if ever leaves his home and for four hours during the day two in the morning two in the afternoon early evening he spends time with his orchids no delays all on schedule. and what is it with these detective mystery thriller writers and their stories about food we're talking the stuff that's hard to pronounce on the menu...that's even if you ever find yourself in a place where you're likely called upon to drape a napkin in your lap or maybe tuck it into your shirt collar and know which knife or fork to pick up and brandish and not be known as uncouth for choosing the wrong one. i think that's why it is even more of a hoot that a few of the detective writers have included recipes in their stories...elmore leonard...i think maybe mcbain...though block did too if i recall correct and i even highlighted it though it is lost in the stacks now...what was it...baked beans. should look for it so i have it handy. next thing you know i'll be tucking a paper towel in my neck collar and asking for haircots verts.
July 22, 2019
This is tough two stories in one book and one l liked a lot — Champagne for One — and one that was smart and talented but the language used, from the 1930s, was offensive in the language used not only for women but also for African Americans. So together they get three stars.
In Too Many Cooks, Nero Wolfe goes to a resort to take part in a gathering of cooks in which he partakes of the dinners and contributes a speech on the final evening. But things go awry when one of the chefs is killed and the fellow chefs and many of the wives are all suspects. The solution is really clever but the language was particularly jarring when reading in 2019.
In Champagne for One, Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's assistant, stands in for a young man during a dinner for unwed mothers and one dies after drinking a glass of champagne. The situation looks like a suicide except for Archie who insists that the woman was murdered. And Wolfe must come up with a conclusion that supports that conclusion.
Both mysteries and the solutions are very clever and shrewd. You don't see much of what is happening until the big reveal. Overall enjoyable reads if you can get past the dated language in the first book.
In Too Many Cooks, Nero Wolfe goes to a resort to take part in a gathering of cooks in which he partakes of the dinners and contributes a speech on the final evening. But things go awry when one of the chefs is killed and the fellow chefs and many of the wives are all suspects. The solution is really clever but the language was particularly jarring when reading in 2019.
In Champagne for One, Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's assistant, stands in for a young man during a dinner for unwed mothers and one dies after drinking a glass of champagne. The situation looks like a suicide except for Archie who insists that the woman was murdered. And Wolfe must come up with a conclusion that supports that conclusion.
Both mysteries and the solutions are very clever and shrewd. You don't see much of what is happening until the big reveal. Overall enjoyable reads if you can get past the dated language in the first book.
July 5, 2023
Too many Cooks is a fascinating insight into Stout's thinking and his era. He makes Archie something of a casual racist, using racist language: I don't remember this being done in any other novel. And Stout uses the 'invisibility' of African Americans at work as a plot point. Although the language and interaction is dated, that was the world of Stout back c. 1937, and his (subtle) use of the point was part of the beginning of the civil rights movement.
Champagne for one is much later in the ouvre, I think about 1957 or so. It's a lean, mean, perfectly plotted Nero Wolfe.
Champagne for one is much later in the ouvre, I think about 1957 or so. It's a lean, mean, perfectly plotted Nero Wolfe.
November 11, 2018
A great pair of stories
I don’t usually enjoy the stories where Wolfe is removed from the Brownstone- part of what I love about these books is the atmosphere and the recurring NYC based characters - but too many cooks I’d still s great read. Archie is s little less likable as he lets loose more than one racist pejorative but the story is good. The second book is just as entertaining., Champagne for one. All the usual characters and s snooty cast of suspects.
I don’t usually enjoy the stories where Wolfe is removed from the Brownstone- part of what I love about these books is the atmosphere and the recurring NYC based characters - but too many cooks I’d still s great read. Archie is s little less likable as he lets loose more than one racist pejorative but the story is good. The second book is just as entertaining., Champagne for one. All the usual characters and s snooty cast of suspects.
April 29, 2019
I couldn't get into Too Many Cooks and DNFed it but enjoyed Champagne for One. I did feel that they solution to the mystery was a little too easy but I enjoyed the despicable characters. I found the premise of someone who carried cyanide around and told everyone that she was going to kill herself completely ludicrous though. It was interesting to see the attitude and expectation of unmarried mothers at this time.
July 12, 2017
Champagne for One is a very good Nero Wolfe mystery but standard in its way. Too Many Cooks, which predates it by two decades, is the intriguing oddity in this duo.
The racial epithets in Too Many Cooks are jarring, as many reviewers note. But the more you read into the story, the more it seems that Stout was making a point to a degree unusual for him. One passage has Wolfe commenting on human morality, as he does on a few occasions in other novels. What's highly unusual is that his actions throughout the novel constitute a running comment on race relations in the U.S.
A southern sheriff and one or two others feel free to throw around the most hurtful word for blacks and the most stereotyped attitudes. Wolfe demonstrates not just a tolerance but a broad understanding that fits his cosmopolitan humanism; it's easy to suspect that he speaks/acts for Stout on this score. Archie Goodwin occupies a curious middle ground, never going as far as the sheriff but casually throwing around words like "shines" and "dagoes" and "polacks." He also may or may not judge people the way that Wolfe does, and for my money, has slightly testier relations with his boss than usual, although for reasons not related to racial attitudes. Stout may well have been making a point rather than merely mirroring attitudes of his time. I think he was. All the more interesting, then, that the openness to racial equality is not matched by a similar openness to women, even if Stout himself married a quite accomplished one. The women in the story begin and end the book as somewhat witch-like characters, capable of enchantment.
Too Many Cooks also a pretty good story of the classic many-suspects-in-a-room kind. Wolfe's/Stout's view of what constitutes great food remains highly idiosyncratic, though.
(A couple of weeks after writing this review I stumbled across information that a disguise used by the killer in Too Many Cooks was used in at least a couple of notorious criminal cases dating from nearly 20 years before the book was published; I assume that Stout almost certainly would have had them in mind, and they add texture to his implied comments about racism.)
The racial epithets in Too Many Cooks are jarring, as many reviewers note. But the more you read into the story, the more it seems that Stout was making a point to a degree unusual for him. One passage has Wolfe commenting on human morality, as he does on a few occasions in other novels. What's highly unusual is that his actions throughout the novel constitute a running comment on race relations in the U.S.
A southern sheriff and one or two others feel free to throw around the most hurtful word for blacks and the most stereotyped attitudes. Wolfe demonstrates not just a tolerance but a broad understanding that fits his cosmopolitan humanism; it's easy to suspect that he speaks/acts for Stout on this score. Archie Goodwin occupies a curious middle ground, never going as far as the sheriff but casually throwing around words like "shines" and "dagoes" and "polacks." He also may or may not judge people the way that Wolfe does, and for my money, has slightly testier relations with his boss than usual, although for reasons not related to racial attitudes. Stout may well have been making a point rather than merely mirroring attitudes of his time. I think he was. All the more interesting, then, that the openness to racial equality is not matched by a similar openness to women, even if Stout himself married a quite accomplished one. The women in the story begin and end the book as somewhat witch-like characters, capable of enchantment.
Too Many Cooks also a pretty good story of the classic many-suspects-in-a-room kind. Wolfe's/Stout's view of what constitutes great food remains highly idiosyncratic, though.
(A couple of weeks after writing this review I stumbled across information that a disguise used by the killer in Too Many Cooks was used in at least a couple of notorious criminal cases dating from nearly 20 years before the book was published; I assume that Stout almost certainly would have had them in mind, and they add texture to his implied comments about racism.)
July 1, 2017
Fun but not the best at this point late in the series, a little predictable
Great fun. Everyone true to type. A bit predictable. Same old Archie as week as ever.fewer underline worthy Nero passages as other books.
Great fun. Everyone true to type. A bit predictable. Same old Archie as week as ever.fewer underline worthy Nero passages as other books.
October 26, 2019
Too much use of the n word ...
Not by any of the good guys who treated everyone with respect, and I realize it was colloquial for the time, but way too mAny occasions that the n word was thrown around in the book "too many cooks." Liked "Champagne for one" better all around.
Not by any of the good guys who treated everyone with respect, and I realize it was colloquial for the time, but way too mAny occasions that the n word was thrown around in the book "too many cooks." Liked "Champagne for one" better all around.
August 21, 2025
The “who done it” of the story is good. But it’s sometimes hard to read the racial slurs. We do live in different times now, and we are very much aware of racist language. There’s quite a bit in these two stories.
April 5, 2021
Better second time or third?? time around!!!!!!
December 3, 2021
Fast moving - keeps your interest to the end. Both stories were great.
September 20, 2022
Love this series.
Have been watching the Italian tv series on MTV; decided to read the books.
Have been watching the Italian tv series on MTV; decided to read the books.
March 9, 2015
Too Many Cooks is the first tale in another of the 2-novels-in-one publications of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series being republished by Bantam these days; this one hails from 1938 and features that rarity, Nero Wolfe leaving his New York City home and venturing out into the world! However, he has good reason to do so, for he is the guest of honour at a gathering of Les Quinze Maitres, the fifteen best chefs in the world. Only ten are at this event, which is only held once every five years, because three of the chefs have died and two more were not able to make the trip to West Virginia. It's only a matter of time before one of these men, the most obnoxious person imaginable of whom at least three fellow Masters have expressed an intent to kill, is indeed murdered, and it's up to Nero Wolfe to solve the crime in time to make his midnight train back home after the final event, a gourmet dinner followed by his, Wolfe's, keynote speech to the gathered chefs....A couple of difficult bits for the modern reader in this one, in that one (quite unpleasant) character uses the n-word a few times, there's some stereotyping of a Chinese-American woman (from San Francisco, natch), and even Archie uses the terms "dago" and "smokes" (which was a new term to me) on a couple of occasions. But other than those distasteful (to the modern ear, not to the original audience) language lapses, this is as richly charactered and fairly clued as any of Stout's books in this series. If you like Nero Wolfe, this is well worth a taste!
Lately, I've been reading Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books that are being republished in two-books-in-one form; Champagne for One (1958) is paired with previously reviewed Too Many Cooks (1938), but the 20-year gap between the two novels doesn't make any difference at all in terms of the ages and behaviours of the characters, etc., except, perhaps for the subject matter (unwed mothers) and some slightly stronger language. Archie is asked by his acquaintance Austin "Dinky" Byne to fill in for Byne at a dinner party being held by his wealthy aunt, who honours her deceased first husband's memory by continuing to support the country home where unwed mothers are sent to have their babies that her husband patronized; she also holds an annual dinner party on her late husband's birthday, to which four young women from that group home (who have already given birth) are invited, along with four young society men. Archie is intrigued, all the more so when he is told that one of the young women has kept a bottle of cyanide in her purse for over a year, declaring every now and then that she does so because she might decide to kill herself at any moment. When that same young woman accepts a glass of champagne, sips it and within eight minutes dies of cyanide poisoning, only Archie believes that this was a murder, not a suicide. His belief is enough for Wolfe to plunge into the case, to determine whether his sidekick is seeing things correctly, or just seeing things... I found this to be one of the better entries in the series; I like all the Nero Wolfe books that I've read, but this one seems especially strong to me. Recommended.
Lately, I've been reading Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books that are being republished in two-books-in-one form; Champagne for One (1958) is paired with previously reviewed Too Many Cooks (1938), but the 20-year gap between the two novels doesn't make any difference at all in terms of the ages and behaviours of the characters, etc., except, perhaps for the subject matter (unwed mothers) and some slightly stronger language. Archie is asked by his acquaintance Austin "Dinky" Byne to fill in for Byne at a dinner party being held by his wealthy aunt, who honours her deceased first husband's memory by continuing to support the country home where unwed mothers are sent to have their babies that her husband patronized; she also holds an annual dinner party on her late husband's birthday, to which four young women from that group home (who have already given birth) are invited, along with four young society men. Archie is intrigued, all the more so when he is told that one of the young women has kept a bottle of cyanide in her purse for over a year, declaring every now and then that she does so because she might decide to kill herself at any moment. When that same young woman accepts a glass of champagne, sips it and within eight minutes dies of cyanide poisoning, only Archie believes that this was a murder, not a suicide. His belief is enough for Wolfe to plunge into the case, to determine whether his sidekick is seeing things correctly, or just seeing things... I found this to be one of the better entries in the series; I like all the Nero Wolfe books that I've read, but this one seems especially strong to me. Recommended.
February 3, 2022
His eyes had narrowed. “Archie.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do I ever intrude in your private affairs?”
“Yes, sir. Frequently. But you think you don’t, so go right ahead.”
The twenty years that separate the two novels is not readily apparent. “Too Many Cooks” is aptly named, as I had trouble keeping track of who was who. “Champagne” fares better in this regard, and the murderer is the most unpleasant character in the novel, so that’s always good.
“Yes, sir.”
“Do I ever intrude in your private affairs?”
“Yes, sir. Frequently. But you think you don’t, so go right ahead.”
The twenty years that separate the two novels is not readily apparent. “Too Many Cooks” is aptly named, as I had trouble keeping track of who was who. “Champagne” fares better in this regard, and the murderer is the most unpleasant character in the novel, so that’s always good.
March 13, 2025
Never having read Rex Stout before, I tried this as an experiment, and I like it. It’s lightly written and amusing, easy to read, but not entirely frivolous: there is some seriousness in it.
Main reason for the experiment: I already knew that Randall Garrett based one of his characters on Nero Wolfe, and I was curious to see the original!
I enjoyed the characters and conversation, but I don’t think these are really good murder mysteries.
I don’t specialize in murder mysteries, but I think an elegant one should pass two tests. When you come to the solution, you should realize:
1. That all the essential information about it was presented to you well in advance.
2. That the murder was done in a fairly straightforward way and wasn’t complicated, tricky, or implausible.
These stories fail both tests.
The ambience of these stories reminds me slightly of Wodehouse (in America), perhaps because of the period.
Although Nero Wolfe actually solves the mysteries, we see more of Archie Goodwin, who’s a bright spark with all his wits about him, and an entertaining character in his own right, especially in the second story.
Some readers regard “Too many cooks” as racist, which I think is entirely wrong. Some of the characters are racist or use casually racist language, but this is surely to be expected in a story from 1938; it merely goes with the period. Nero Wolfe himself seems remarkably free from racism, for the time, and he presumably represents the author in this respect.
In any case, I somewhat preferred the second story, dating from 1958. In “Too many cooks” the characters are colourful but somewhat overdone, and the circumstances of the murder overcomplicated. I do rather like coming across good food and wine in a story, though (Richard Condon used to do it).
Main reason for the experiment: I already knew that Randall Garrett based one of his characters on Nero Wolfe, and I was curious to see the original!
I enjoyed the characters and conversation, but I don’t think these are really good murder mysteries.
I don’t specialize in murder mysteries, but I think an elegant one should pass two tests. When you come to the solution, you should realize:
1. That all the essential information about it was presented to you well in advance.
2. That the murder was done in a fairly straightforward way and wasn’t complicated, tricky, or implausible.
These stories fail both tests.
The ambience of these stories reminds me slightly of Wodehouse (in America), perhaps because of the period.
Although Nero Wolfe actually solves the mysteries, we see more of Archie Goodwin, who’s a bright spark with all his wits about him, and an entertaining character in his own right, especially in the second story.
Some readers regard “Too many cooks” as racist, which I think is entirely wrong. Some of the characters are racist or use casually racist language, but this is surely to be expected in a story from 1938; it merely goes with the period. Nero Wolfe himself seems remarkably free from racism, for the time, and he presumably represents the author in this respect.
In any case, I somewhat preferred the second story, dating from 1958. In “Too many cooks” the characters are colourful but somewhat overdone, and the circumstances of the murder overcomplicated. I do rather like coming across good food and wine in a story, though (Richard Condon used to do it).
January 22, 2016
I read Too Many Cooks for my Mystery book discussion but I still have to read Champagne for One. I'm doing the review on the first one now and will finish up later. I enjoyed this. I have never read any of his books but after reading this one and participating in the book discussion, I really want to read more (lucky thing--right?). I particularly liked Nero's assistant, Archie. In this book, Nero--who seldom leaves home--is invited to attend a competition between a number of master chef's. All is delicious until one of the participant's ends up being stabbed and there are way too many suspects. Seems like many wanted him out of the way. Mr. Wolfe attempts to solve the murder and has a very specific request in mind as payment. A quick read and very entertaining.
I have now finished Champagne for One and enjoyed it even more than Too Many Cooks. Part of that might be because I had already met the main characters and knew what to expect but I also thought that this story was a little easier to follow--ot quite as many characters to remember. This time, Archie is asked to fill in at a dinner party by a young man who was suffering from a cold and couldn't go. It's an annual party for a small number of select people. There are several women who have had children out of wedlock but have since bettered their lives. They are balanced out by a group of young eligible bachelors--in the hope that some romantic connections will be made and everyone wins. One young lady has told a number of different people that she continually carries a vial of cyanide in her purse. The evening of the dinner, she ends up dead--poisoned by cyanide. The question is--did she kill herself or was someone else responsible. Just a very enjoyable read. I would recommend these books to those who enjoy mysteries.
I have now finished Champagne for One and enjoyed it even more than Too Many Cooks. Part of that might be because I had already met the main characters and knew what to expect but I also thought that this story was a little easier to follow--ot quite as many characters to remember. This time, Archie is asked to fill in at a dinner party by a young man who was suffering from a cold and couldn't go. It's an annual party for a small number of select people. There are several women who have had children out of wedlock but have since bettered their lives. They are balanced out by a group of young eligible bachelors--in the hope that some romantic connections will be made and everyone wins. One young lady has told a number of different people that she continually carries a vial of cyanide in her purse. The evening of the dinner, she ends up dead--poisoned by cyanide. The question is--did she kill herself or was someone else responsible. Just a very enjoyable read. I would recommend these books to those who enjoy mysteries.
March 29, 2019
AS time has gone on, my opinion of Nero Wolfe has risen considerably. Although REx Stout has a propensity to hide clues until the last minute, the characters are wonderfully drawn and the ambiance of New York in the middle of the 20th Century is wonderfully rendered unconsciously by an observant and witty writer.
"Champagne for One" is an excellent puzzle and a social commentary and a character study. The solution, in fact, hinges on the quirks of both killer and victim. It is one of the better Nero Wolfe stories I've read.
In "Too Many Cooks" Wolfe is off in the South at a conclave of the fifteen greatest cooks in the world when one of them is killed. Although Wolfe keeps telling everyone he will not investigate, he does, of course, and catches the killer. To give you an idea, the vital clue that leads to trying up the killer is a newspaper item we are given...after the solution.
Kudos to Rex Stout, writing in the 30s, for treating the black waiters in the story as individual humans who have dignity and pride in their work--quite a daring thing for 1938, when the book was written.
( note that other reviewers missed Stout's point that the white characters who were throwing the "n" word around are racist louts. Even Archie, Wolfe's sidekick, is a racist, something Nero slaps down in him immediately)
"Champagne for One" is an excellent puzzle and a social commentary and a character study. The solution, in fact, hinges on the quirks of both killer and victim. It is one of the better Nero Wolfe stories I've read.
In "Too Many Cooks" Wolfe is off in the South at a conclave of the fifteen greatest cooks in the world when one of them is killed. Although Wolfe keeps telling everyone he will not investigate, he does, of course, and catches the killer. To give you an idea, the vital clue that leads to trying up the killer is a newspaper item we are given...after the solution.
Kudos to Rex Stout, writing in the 30s, for treating the black waiters in the story as individual humans who have dignity and pride in their work--quite a daring thing for 1938, when the book was written.
( note that other reviewers missed Stout's point that the white characters who were throwing the "n" word around are racist louts. Even Archie, Wolfe's sidekick, is a racist, something Nero slaps down in him immediately)
May 26, 2016
Readers Warning : "Too Many Cooks"
Rex Stout has peppered this book with racial slurs. It is a mystery well worth reading, you just have to get past Archie's bad language. It is still one of the best "Nero Wolfe At Large" adventures.
Nero Wolfe never leaves his New York brownstone, ever. But, in Too Many Cooks, Wolfe and Archie must travel to a world class resort in West Virginia for a rare meeting of famous chefs. Nero is Guest of Honor, expecting to do nothing more than to bask in great cuisine and perform as guest speaker, but he is soon forced to figure out who has planted a knife in the back of one of the guest chefs.. Can he survive long enough to unravel this tasty mystery ?
Champagne for One
This is another great mystery involving a wide array of suspects, a bubbly murder and Archie at his high society socializing best.
Rex Stout has peppered this book with racial slurs. It is a mystery well worth reading, you just have to get past Archie's bad language. It is still one of the best "Nero Wolfe At Large" adventures.
Nero Wolfe never leaves his New York brownstone, ever. But, in Too Many Cooks, Wolfe and Archie must travel to a world class resort in West Virginia for a rare meeting of famous chefs. Nero is Guest of Honor, expecting to do nothing more than to bask in great cuisine and perform as guest speaker, but he is soon forced to figure out who has planted a knife in the back of one of the guest chefs.. Can he survive long enough to unravel this tasty mystery ?
Champagne for One
This is another great mystery involving a wide array of suspects, a bubbly murder and Archie at his high society socializing best.
August 19, 2012
Too Many Cooks has its moments, but its problematic at best, racist at worst. Champagne for One is excellent, and Goodwin's sass was so amazing at one point that I laughed myself silly. Over all, I liked this pair of stories, but that's no surprise. Any fan of mysteries from the first half of the 20th century should enjoy these. If you're into eccentric genius detectives and parlor scene reveals, Nero Wolfe has that for you. If you like hardboiled PIs who know the streets and rebel against authority, Archie Goodwin is your man. The combination is classic and perfect. Also, if you're a fan of Glen Cook's Garret novels, you owe it to yourself to read some of his source material.
August 30, 2015
Stout never disappoints
Though Too Many Cooks may shock those who are not familiar with the prejudices of the time it was written, the story itself is as good as any the author wrote. Champagne for One is one of his best, in my opinion. The quirky detective delivers the murderer in his usual flamboyant style.
Though Too Many Cooks may shock those who are not familiar with the prejudices of the time it was written, the story itself is as good as any the author wrote. Champagne for One is one of his best, in my opinion. The quirky detective delivers the murderer in his usual flamboyant style.
February 5, 2011
As usual, Archie and Nero Wolfe are fascinating. I couldn't put it down. Too Many Cooks kept me up two nights in a row. Stout does an amazing job with plots, I usually can't guess whodunit until the very end. Thoroughly enjoyable, I highly recommend both stories!
December 12, 2014
Both stories were solid and definitely seem to be a good sample of Stout's writing and the characters within. The plots were standard and the characters fit a pattern. I liked them both but didn't love them.
May 12, 2010
very entertaining.
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