Too Many Clients

Nero Wolfe #34

by Rex Stout

A bidding war for his services interrupts Nero Wolfe's attempts to solve the case of the businessman who died in his love nest--a case in which the police seem oddly uninterested. Reissue.

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

207 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 28, 1960

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

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somebody shows up at Wolfe's identifying himself as Mr. Yaegar of Consolidated Plastics, and he wants Archie to follow him the next day and find out if he has a tail. The next day, Mr. Yaegar ends up dead, and--guess what?--it turns out that the guy who hired Archie is NOT Mr. Yaegar.

Archie begins to investigate, and discovers that Yaegar, who was quite a ladies' man, rented an apartment decorated and equipped as--in Wolfe's words--a "bower of carnality." Archie lurks in the "bower" to see who shows up, and soon the suspects--and the prospective clients--begin to accumulate.

This is a very good Wolfe adventure, satisfying to anyone who enjoys the series.

[♪ Kim N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just re-read a favorite Nero Wolfe...

A man claiming to be Thomas G. Yeager, executive VP of Consolidated Plastics, hires Archie to find out if he's being tailed. Seems simple enough, until Yeager turns up dead and Archie learns that whoever hired him was definitely not Yeager. While investigating the crime scene, Archie finds that Yeager kept a love nest where he entertained multiple women routinely. Soon Wolfe goes from no client to multiple clients, including Yeager's widow who is most anxious to see her husband's "room" for herself. It's a joy to see Wolf, once again, match wits with Inspector Cramer. But even more enjoyable is Archie's ingenuity, as he and Wolfe contrive to keep the room a secret from the police until they're ready to wrap up the case and earn their fee.

[Cathy DuPont · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too much going on around here (neighborhood, not house) for me to be reading a book that needs careful attention to details! So this book hit the spot.

135 pages and it takes me what? Five days to read??? So much for making a last run on my yearly reading challenge of 125. "To Many Clients" was 109, so needless to say, I will not make it again. :( (Hah! Setting my goal to one for next year!")

This book would have been so much better had I read it like I normally read. It was a good storyline and I just think Archie is the greatest. I like him more every book. With that said, it's getting a fourth star because while I was preoccupied the entire time I read the book, it was still a good book.

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Archie is contacted by Arthur G. Yeager. Yeager wants to know if someone is following him and who. As Wolfe is in the plant room, Archie takes it upon himself to accept the case. The business needs money. Archie makes arrangements and then Yeager never shows. Oh, yes, we can expect he has been murdered. The foundation for the novel laid, an investigation ensues.

The installments of this series are always short, but I thought this one might have been done just as well as some of the short stories. Further, I guessed who done it. Sometimes my guesses are so far off as to be laughable, but this time it was spot on. Still, how Wolfe went about solving it was interesting. But did I say this might have been better as a short story?

I'll ever tire of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. There are 47 books in the series and I've read more than half of them. When I have read all of them, I won't be surprised to find myself re-reading some, though I am not generally a re-reader. That said, this one is only a middling 3 stars.

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting a series 2/3s of the way through is not my normal MO, but I had a good time with the 34th Nero Wolfe book nevertheless. The mix of the gumshoe narrator Archie Woodwin and behind the scenes genius Wolfe works well and makes for an entertaining 50s mystery. Attitudes are dated at times but never enough to spoil the story.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all the description of this edition is not correct. The book is copyrighted 1960 and states "First published in 1960 by the Viking Press Inc." Second the page count is incorrect as the book has 183 pages not 184.

Nero Wolfe — The private investigator
Archie Goodwin — Wolfe's assistant, and the narrator of all Wolfe stories

This book is different from any other Nero Wolf books I have ever read. Archie actually has encounters with women. Perhaps this was Rex Stout's attempt to broaden his horizons and join the swinging 60's.

This would not be my choice for starting this series as the context would not be there. It would be best to start with Fer-de-Lance published in 1934. In fact the list of books is:

Fer-de-Lance (1934)
The League of Frightened Men (1935)
The Rubber Band (1936)
The Red Box (1937)
Too Many Cooks (1938)
Some Buried Caesar (1939)
Over My Dead Body (1940)
Where There's a Will (1940)
Black Orchids (1942)
Not Quite Dead Enough (1944)
The Silent Speaker (1946)
Too Many Women (1947)
And Be A Villain (1948)
The Second Confession (1949)
Trouble in Triplicate (1949)
Three Doors to Death (1950)
In the Best Families (1950)
Curtains for Three (1951)
Murder by the Book (1951)
Prisoner's Base (1952)
Triple Jeopardy (1952)
The Golden Spiders (1953)
The Black Mountain (1954)
Three Men Out (1954)
Before Midnight (1955)
Might As Well Be Dead (1956)
Three Witnesses (1956)
If Death Ever Slept (1957)
Three for the Chair (1957)
And Four to Go (1958)
Champagne for One (1958)
Plot It Yourself (1959)
Three at Wolfe's Door (1960)
Too Many Clients (1960)
The Final Deduction (1961)
Homicide Trinity (1962)
Gambit (1962)
The Mother Hunt (1963)
A Right To Die (1964)
The Doorbell Rang (1965)
Trio for Blunt Instruments (1965)
Death of a Doxy (1966)
The Father Hunt (1968)
Death of a Dude (1969)
Please Pass the Guilt (1973)
A Family Affair (1975)
Death Times Three (1985)
Fer-de-Lance (1934)
The League of Frightened Men (1935)
The Rubber Band (1936)
The Red Box (1937)
Too Many Cooks (1938)
Some Buried Caesar (1939)
Over My Dead Body (1940)
Where There's a Will (1940)
Black Orchids (1942)
Not Quite Dead Enough (1944)
The Silent Speaker (1946)
Too Many Women (1947)
And Be A Villain (1948)
The Second Confession (1949)
Trouble in Triplicate (1949)
Three Doors to Death (1950)
In the Best Families (1950)
Curtains for Three (1951)
Murder by the Book (1951)
Prisoner's Base (1952)
Triple Jeopardy (1952)
The Golden Spiders (1953)
The Black Mountain (1954)
Three Men Out (1954)
Before Midnight (1955)
Might As Well Be Dead (1956)
Three Witnesses (1956)
If Death Ever Slept (1957)
Three for the Chair (1957)
And Four to Go (1958)
Champagne for One (1958)
Plot It Yourself (1959)
Three at Wolfe's Door (1960)
Too Many Clients (1960)
The Final Deduction (1961)
Homicide Trinity (1962)
Gambit (1962)
The Mother Hunt (1963)
A Right To Die (1964)
The Doorbell Rang (1965)
Trio for Blunt Instruments (1965)
Death of a Doxy (1966)
The Father Hunt (1968)
Death of a Dude (1969)
Please Pass the Guilt (1973)
A Family Affair (1975)
Death Times Three (1985)

[Bryan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun because it was a fascinating twist on the usual formula. Normally Nero and Archie never have more evidence than the police department does, although Inspector Cramer and Sergeant Stebbins never believe that. They often spend time in Nero's office badgering and annoying because they think Nero knows more and won't tell them. The often are threatened with being arrested for obstruction of justice but that never the case or at worst could be argued both ways.

In this story Nero and Archie definitely have information that the police need and if it were proven that they knew what they do know they would certainly be liable for prosecution for obstruction. So one of the story conflicts became how to avoid meeting with the police in any capacity so they couldn't be found out as having that evidence. Archie makes uncharacteristic responses to Sergeant Stebbins when he accidentally runs into him, making up an excuse instead of offering a glib response.

The other interesting point I found interesting in this book is the primary victim was a sex crazed executive who had a "bower of carnality" for his assignations. In any modern book the story would spend a lot of time revolving around the details of the room. Stout treated the whole concept intellectually even though reviews at the time mention that some Stout fans may not be comfortable with the sex in the story. My reaction is "there was sex in the story? I mean, I guess it was implied, sure but..."

Anyway, the mystery is elegant and the handling of the topics was also elegant.

[First Second Books]

I love Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe books, mostly because Archie Goodwin is super-awesome as a narrator. I am 100% sure that I would never be able to put up with an orchid-loving, extreme foodie boss with an aversion to making money as well as he does!

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

Not my favorite Nero Wolfe story but still an entertaining and enjoyable read. There were some really fun snide comments in this that had me chuckling.

[Vicki Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man comes to Archie asking to be checked out if he's being followed, gives him the starting and ending addresses and a start time. Only he never shows up. Turns out he gave a false name and the real person with that name was found dead near the ending address hours before the imposter contacted Archie. The initial client is the head of the corporation where the victim worked who wants to quelch any scandal. And other potential clients follow. It takes a while to discover who the imposter was.

[Erin L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. It's hard not to, they work so well together and reading the stories from Archie's point of view gives us such a good look into their world. I can't help but chuckle at his personality and the way he gives the reader information.

I highly recommend these books to anyone who is looking for a classic mystery. So much fun. And the TV series was just fantastic.

[Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing about reading all an author's works from a series, in order, is that you can trace certain elements, given your interests, as they develop. In this novel, about three\fifths of the way through the Nero Wolfe stories, Archie has grown to be far more intelligent than he first was, and Wolfe's role has, at least temporarily, receded somewhat. I think that the reason for this is that having Archie take on a more perceptive aspect shifts more of the explication to him, which leaves Wolfe as the genius, still, but 1.) The reader gets to respect and know a more likable Archie, 2.) The weight of explication is spread more evenly across the pages, and 3.) The Wolfe/Goodwin relationship makes more sense. There is more, and my list is not meant to exhaustive, but one hopes that this sort of thought is not without interest to others.

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We were now out about five Cs on the Yeager operation, and we had four clients and two bucks in retainers, plus a damn good chance of ending up in the coop for obstructing justice."

Too Many Clients (1960) is the seventh book in the Nero Wolfe series that I am reviewing here and the thirty-fourth installment, chronologically, in this deservedly acclaimed series of mysteries featuring the obese genius, Nero Wolfe, and his intrepid, manly, and charming helper, Archie Goodwin.

Archie is worried: with just $14,000 bank balance and $5,000 monthly household expenses things do not look good for the occupants of the brownstone on West 35th Street. Luckily, a Mr. Yeager, the executive VP of a large company, arrives at Wolfe's office and wants to hire Mr. Goodwin to find out who is following him. But when Archie arranges the details of the tail-the-tail operation, Mr. Yeager is found murdered. And to complicate things, Archie learns that his visitor was not in fact the deceased Mr. Yeager.

Archie commences the investigation, using - in Wolfe's words - his "discretion and sagacity." The case brings him to a house owned by the deceased; the house holds a secret, crucial for the plot. The manager and his family who live in the building play an important role in the story. Even though the purported client is dead Wolfe and Goodwin have no scarcity of clients: the president of the company, the deceased's wife, and a famous actress are among them. The problem is that while there are too many clients none of them is a paying one. Inspector Cramer of the police arrives and demands Wolfe's cooperation. There is another murder and things really begin to look bleak for the detectives.

Obviously, Wolfe and Goodwin solve the case and eventually get paid. The plot is interesting and keeps the reader's attention. The setup of the plot, with the fake Mr. Yeager, is first-rate, one of the best I remember of all Wolfe's stories. This installment of the series is not as outstanding as the unforgettable Murder by the Book but it is a solid and very readable mystery. I like the prose, which has some nice passages as, for instance:

"'Curiosity creeps into the homes of the unfortunate under the names of duty or pity. [...]'
'Is that Pascal?'
'No, Nietzsche.'"

Three stars.

[cool breeze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been gradually reading the 47-book Nero Wolfe series in publication order. One of the things I like about the series is that, along the way, Stout provides good depictions of contemporary life in America (mostly New York City) during the period over which it was written, 1934 - 1975. Sometimes this involves local, national and world events. Sometimes it involves technology, newfangled inventions such as direct dial telephones and self-service elevators.

This 34th novel is from 1960. To my surprise, there appeared to be nothing about technology, like Sputnik, and almost nothing about events, only a passing reference to Khrushchev. What the novel does have is more sex than the previous 33 books combined. The sex is implied, not explicit, but this is still a dramatic departure. The primary victim is a lecherous plastics executive who has built a luxurious love nest, a "bower of carnality", on the (then) seedy Upper West Side, where he hosts a rotating harem of dozens of eager, beautiful women.

This is apparently the contemporary development that Stout found most worth noting at the time. Is there anything that could account for it? Oh yeah, the birth control pill was first approved in 1960. The Pill seems to have had an immediate effect. As the 1960 book jacket blurb notes, “If one of Nero Wolfe’s adventures has not already been called Too Many Women, that might have been the title of this one.”

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not unusual for Wolfe and Archie to try to find a client to pay them for investigating a case they are already involved in. In the case, Archie outdoes himself, hence the title. A man who gives his name as Thomas Yeager comes to the brownstone with a simple request that Archie determine if Yeager is being followed to a particular address. Archie arranges things, then the man never appears. Later, Archie learns Yeager’s murdered corpse has been found — and it is not the same man who visited him.

Archie’s curiosity is aroused, and, coupled with the shrinking bank balance, he snoops around in hopes of scraping up a client. He succeeds beyond his wildest hopes - Wolfe ends up with 3 clients. Obviously this is rife with potential ethical issues.

Not my favorite Wolfe & Archie adventure, but enjoyable.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

More sex than usual for Wolfe and Archie. Not enough to justify the cover of this edition, but still. Archie is at his clever best throughout, but I docked this a star because of Archie not being able to resist putting his hand on someone's knee, two women attempting to scratch people's eyes out, and one unpleasant description of wife abuse that's even more unpleasant because it's barely remarked on at all. Read Champagne for One instead.

My next Master's thesis will be on the inconsistent portrayal of women in Rex Stout.

[EuroHackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A prominent businessman is found in a Con Ed hole in a neighborhood slum far from home, and everyone involved in the case tries to hire Nero Wolfe to work for them to solve his murder: family members, business associates, the people who served as caretakers for said businessman's secret love shack in said slum neighborhood. Everyone wants to keep the connection between the love shack and the dead man a secret, though Wolfe & co realize its only a matter of time before the police put two and two together and realize he wasn't just dumped in a convenient Con Ed hole. Unfortunately, someone else has to die before the crime is solved; the second murder can't be solved, due to the conditions of the secret link.

This fell into the "okay" bell of the spectrum for me; not great, but not awful. The deduction of the whodunit is extremely dry and theoretical; it doesn't really hold up to scrutiny, especially considering the motive isn't exactly made plan. Too much is made of the secret love shack for the why to not be about it, but somehow, here, it is. The murderer also has a chance to kill himself before he's arrested, which is one of my least favorite outcomes.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a much better-than-average mystery in a long-running series, but I’m rounding down for the supposedly justified wife-beating.

[Katie Bee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This particular entry in the Wolfe books is almost all Archie. Archie gets the first nibble, Archie digs up the clients (so many of them!), Archie does all the hands-on detecting, and Archie basically puts it all together. There's not much Wolfe at all.

Other than that, what's notable about this book is the sex-addict angle. Not only was the victim a sex addict and his bower an ode to all that was libertine, almost all of the suspects are sharers of his carnal pursuits. None of the women are presented in a good light, except Mrs. Perez and (to an extent) Maria.

I'd rate it three stars except for the wife-beating subplot, which I found very uncomfortable. A man beats his wife black and blue for cheating on him, and Archie considers sending him champagne for doing it (!!) If one is extremely charitable, it could be read (from previous comments by the man) as the wife needing BDSM in her sex life, her husband being unable to provide it, her seeking it elsewhere, and him finally coming up to scratch to put their marriage back together. But I'm afraid it's really just the contrast between period morals and today's morals... I think Archie thinks the wife deserves to be beaten (and it's described in horrific detail) for cheating. :(

[Jdetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've rated all of the Rex Stout novels much higher than this, and there's a lot to recommend in this book as well. The mystery is good, the problem of the many clients and the clues that Wolfe can't reveal to the police give this story a unique spin. However, there is a problem, and it's just one scene...one scene where a husband beats the hell out of his wife when he confronts her about her infidelity. To be fair, the book doesn't support the activity, but it certainly doesn't condemn it, and Archie doesn't show much concern. There have been problematic issues with these stories in the part, mostly some misogyny and racism. However, these can often be attributed to the personalities of certain characters, and the author often tries to show that this behavior is not something that he supports. But this scene of the beaten wife really rubbed me the wrong way, and it hurt what is otherwise an excellent book.

[Christopher Rush · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise for this one is clever: with the finances in dire straits, Wolfe and Archie somehow end up with over 4 clients, all of them circling around 1 murder. Unfortunately, what could be a humorous notion takes a couple of unpleasant turns. This is among the sauciest of Stout's Wolfe adventures, and thus it's not an ideal place to begin. For loyal readers, we may not be in a hurry to re-read it. It's good but marred by the sad and serious twists that really hamper the usual mood of these stories. Archie's ambivalence to these twists don't help much, but they help remind us who he really is.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Archie Goodwin is hired by Thomas Yeager to find out who has been following him. When it turns out that Yeager is dead--and has been for a day before Archie was hired--Nero Wolfe knows that the two are out one client, and potentially in trouble with the law. Archie keeps looking for new clients, but he also learns of a second murder. Fortunately, as always, Wolfe is there to put the pieces together and ensure both a solution and a check.

[☯Emily Ginder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nero Wolfe's household is low on expenses, so Archie decides that Wolfe needs a client. He decides to take on a case himself which leads to "too many clients" as well as two murders. Rex Stout and Agatha Christie are two authors I go to for a quick and enjoyable read, especially after reading a lot of classics.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I deducted two stars because, while I expect misogyny from Wolfe, I don’t expect or like it from Archie.

A woman is brutally beaten by her husband, and after Archie sees the husband’s handiwork, he sends the husband a bottle of Dom Perignon.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the day (smile), mysteries focused only on the mystery--no sex and usually no violence. Stout is a classic mystery writer. If you love this type of book, his are must-reads.

[Harvey Hênio · Rating 4 out of 5]

O escritor estadunidense Rex Stout (1886/1975), realizou uma série de façanhas em tenra idade. Essas façanhas são algo inacreditáveis mas confirmadas por pessoas de sua família. Ele teria lido toda a Bíblia três vezes até os três anos além de esgotar a leitura dos 1200 volumes da biblioteca do pai até os dez anos. Polêmicas à parte é fato que ele desistiu de uma carreira como prodígio em matemática e contador de prestígio para arriscar-se por caminhos incertos. Trabalhou como escritor free-lance, guia turístico e contador itinerante. Chegou a inventar um sistema bancário específico para escolas que lhe rendeu um bom dinheiro. Com um pouco mais de segurança financeira, em 1927, retirou-se para Paris onde enveredou definitivamente pelos caminhos pedregosos e incertos da carreira de escritor. Além disso chama a atenção o seu ativismo que o levou a se destacar na luta contra o nazismo e contra a proliferação das armas nucleares após o fim da Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Sua escolha pela literatura foi muito bem sucedida principalmente em função de sua criação mais famosa: o detetive obeso, glutão, arrogante, misantropo, algo misógino, gourmet, beberrão, orquidófilo e brilhante Nero Wolfe que protagonizou mais de 70 narrativas entre contos, romances e novelas com excelente repercussão entre público e crítica. Seus livros protagonizados por Nero Wolfe lhe renderam fama e fortuna. Chegaram a vender 100 milhões de exemplares em 22 idiomas inclusive o senegalês e o lapão. Stout morreu solitário e feliz, aos 88 anos, numa suntuosa Villa à beira do Mar Mediterrâneo.
Nero Wolfe é um detetive e gênio da criminalística bem peculiar. Ele, ao contrário de Sherlock Holmes, Dupin e outros, não gosta de se mover até por que é obeso. Resolve seus casos e ajuda a perplexa polícia em casos intrincados em sua confortável residência ao lado de suas orquídeas, livros, de seu fiel cozinheiro e mordomo Fritz e das quantidades pantagruélicas de comida, vinho, cognac e cerveja que consome diariamente. Quando necessário as provas, evidências, indícios, testemunhas e documentos vão até ele levados pela polícia e, ou por seu braço direito, “mão forte”, secretário, guarda-costas, gerente, assistente de detetive, “bode expiatório” e ex-policial Archie Goodwin.
No início desse divertido e empolgante “Clientes demais” as coisas não estão bem para os lados da confortável residência de Nero Wolfe localizada na rua 35, às margens do Rio Hudson, em Manhattan, cidade de New York. As despesas não diminuem e a receita está minguante. Nero Wolfe e Archie Goodwin precisam urgentemente de clientes. Bom... Cuidado com o que deseja!
Eis que subitamente o assassinato de um executivo de uma grande empresa estadunidense leva a diretoria da tal empresa a procurar Nero Wolfe para esclarecer o crime sem prejudicar a imagem da corporação. Ao mesmo tempo a viúva do executivo procura o melhor detetive de New York para encontrar o assassino sem comprometer a imagem da família. Enquanto isso outras pessoas ligadas ao executivo – uma espécie de “Don Juan” com apetite sexual insaciável -, principalmente mulheres, pressionam o “faz tudo” Archie Goodwin e oferecem dinheiro para que ele retire “discretamente” da cena do crime certos objetos comprometedores. E como se isso não fosse suficiente um outro assassinato, de uma pessoa ligada ao contexto em que ocorreu o primeiro assassinato, leva a família dessa pessoa a desejar contratar Nero Wolfe para elucidar o crime à revelia dos interesses da empresa e da família do executivo.
Clientes demais, interesses conflitantes, pressões das autoridades, Nero Wolfe e Archie Goodwin no limiar de serem acusados de suprimir provas e informações da polícia, revelações inquietantes sobre a vida sexual do executivo e muitas incertezas testam as habilidades de Wolfe e de seu braço direito.
A tradução do escritor e jornalista Eduardo Bueno garante linguagem fluida e leitura agradável. A trama é bem estruturada e a solução dos casos é convincente e realmente surpreende.
Não creio que os thrillers elaborados por Rex Stout tenham revolucionado a literatura mas são divertidos à beça e mais do que adequados para quem gosta de uma boa história de mistério e suspense.

[Clint Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the messier Nero Wolfe stories. Stout never went where the noir writers like Hammet and Chandler did, but in Too Many Clients the plot centers on a sleazy rented room where a plastics executive, Thomas Yeager, has rendezvous with various women.

Rex Stout wasn't a writer who delved into that sort of grey area, and so the story stays topical with a sideways glance that is much less satisfying for a mature audience more comfortable with darker suspense. It's no surprise that when Stout tackles tries his hand at it that it falls flat.

When Yeager turns up dead, Archie works with Fred Durkin to capture Yeager's adventurous women as they try to sneak back to Yeager’s lair and gather embarrassing evidence. These 'naughty' girls are bundled up, held at gunpoint and, in one case, abused by an angry husband. Mr and Mrs Austin Hough have a marital problem. Mr Hough knows he can't satisfy his wife's sexual desires and he knows she's finding satisfaction elsewhere. It seems like a tolerable arrangement until he decides it's time to confront her and punish her -- when that happens, Archie briefly offers help, but ultimately the problem ends with a shrug.

The eye was swollen shut, and the swollen cheek and jaw were the color of freshly sliced calves' liver.

Archie's reaction is nothing like what Marlowe’s would be:

I told him to send [champagne] to Mr. Austin Hough ... and enclose a card...: "With the compliments of Archie Goodwin." Preferring to make it a personal matter, I didn't put it on expense. I have often wondered whether he dumped it in the garbage, or drank it himself, or shared it with her.

This light treatment is what makes Too Many Clients bland. Instead, its strengths are a tangle of private eye tropes: tailing suspects, blackmailers, and corporate politics. Meanwhile Nero Wolf juggles multiple clients to earn his pay and keep the innocent under his protection -- a Nero Wolfe plot device that is not new to the series, but appropriate for this story and its title.

Things were looking up, but it was getting a little complicated. At 4:30 yesterday afternoon we had had no client and no prospect of any. Then one had come but had turned out to be a phony. Then Mrs. Perez had dangled a hundred bucks and perhaps more. Now this customer was offering a grand. I was digging up clients all right, but too many clients can be worse than too few.

We were now out about five Cs on the Yeager operation, and we had four clients and two bucks in retainers, plus a damn good chance of ending up in the coop for obstructing justice.

Stout reminds us that means, opportunity, and motive are key to crime solving. Without these, the best option is to go fishing: catch somebody in a lie. Wolfe is no stranger to bluffing.

When I first asked that question, had you a motive, I knew nothing about it, but I do now.

... and I might have blundered fatally. I pried it out of her by a ruse. I had cause to suspect she was there Sunday evening, but nothing that could be used as a lever on her, so I fabricated one.

Too Many Clients leans heavily on Stout's favorite device of Wolfe bluffing his way to the truth. Key clues happen off-screen, outside of Archie's knowledge until the reveal itself. Stout was more interested in Archie as a flirt than Yeager as a swinger, or Maria Perez as a voyeur. The effect is like watching a shell game where you keep picking the wrong card long after losing interest in looking for it. Plot device takes precedence over darker themes left unexplored.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is deliciously good for its plot twist and deception. I think this is truly brilliant. It started innocuously enough, a man wearing a $40.00 suit and $3.00 shirt and quoting a broad spectrum of verses from a wide selection of books wanted Archie to find out if he is being followed during a specific time and place and gave his name as Thomas G. Yeager, Executive Vice~President of Continental Plastic Products, and so Archie used the quickest method of information he knew... he called Lon Cohen at the Gazette to verify Yeager's credentials. As the information given to Archie checked out, they set out to catch a tail but the would~be~client did not show. Three hours later the body of Thomas G. Yeager was found in an excavation hole near the address of a house given by the no~show "client" that had Cohen sore and baffled at Archie, accusing him of fore~knowledge of Yeager's murder because of his needing information about the deceased. Next day gave the answer, the person in Wolfe's office interviewed by Archie was an impostor. Archie HAD to investigate that address near where the body was found... and he found something unexpected when he opened a windowless top floor with predominantly yellow and gold tones (Wolfe would love this) with shots of red mostly in silk and the walls festooned with nudes... a veritable "bower of carnality" according to Archie and the secret life of Thomas G. Yeager (the building's owner?) and apparently a sultan with his literal concubines who go to him according to schedule. As for Wolfe's clients there are three ~ the Perezes who are the building's caretakers, they also maintain the love nest, the plastic firm, and Yeager's widow. Oh, and one of the concubines wanted her distinctive gold lighter back and was willing to pay $1,000.00 for its return. Archie found the lighter among other things left by the various temporary inamoratas and put it in Wolfe's safe instead.

[Tom Donaghey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too Many Clients (1960) (Nero Wolfe #34) by Rex Stout. When Thomas G. Yeager, vice president of Continental Plastic Products dropped in on Archie Goodwin to talk a small case, things seemed on the up and up. Yeager was being followed. He wanted to know by whom. Together he and Archie set a trap for later that evening. Yeager was to leave his apartment and take a taxi to a place on 82nd street. Goodwin would be in another cab and spot the tail.
Simple.
But when the trap is sprung, there is no tail spotted. For that matter, Yeager doesn’t appear either. Confounded, Archie learns more about Yeager and soon finds out that Yeager was already dead and dropped in a ConEd project hole on 82nd street hours before the meeting. Someone else had played Yeager.
An interesting premise, but it follows that there is no client to pay the bill for finding out just what was happening. Archie soon uncovers a tenement building with a Yeager built love nest on the top floor adjacent to where his body was found. The rooms are designed for just one thing and it is not to play ping-pong.
Before you know it there are multiple players vying to have Wolfe and Goodwin investigate for them. They include the Continental Plastics company as an entity, and the president of the company as a person, the wife of the dead man, even the super of the love shack building and his wife.
This is a complicated little mystery that sees our detectives one step ahead of the police and one step away from complete ruin if the cops discover what is going on with them.
This is a fun romp with the usual stolid Goodwin surrounded by more beautiful women than should be possible in such a sordid mess. Wolfe as always plays the mountain of wisdom, breaking down the wall of anonymity set by the false Yeager. Goodwin is dashing and charming and ruthless, and brilliant in his role. A great little read for passing the shuttered days and nights.

[Randolph King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting slowly, Nero Wolfe needs clients to support his lifestyle. Archie is to find some. The mystery begins when Archie meets Thomas Yeager, the president of Continental Plastic Products. Thomas is concerned and wants to be able to make a clandestine meeting in a less-than-desirable part of town without being followed.

Archie arranges to watch him in controlled conditions so that he can make his meeting safely, but he doesn’t show. The next day Thomas Yeager turns up dead outside of the meeting location, but it isn’t the man that Archie met.

This is a good mystery, but Archie still doesn’t have a client. He proceeds with an investigation, staying both just ahead of the police and keeping out of jail for interfering.

At the address that Thomas gave, Archie finds an apartment set up as a private love nest done out in style. He manages to get several clients, the owners of the love nest, the directors of the Continental Plastics Company, and the wife of Thomas Yeager, each of whom is looking for a different outcome. He and Nero Wolfe have to keep the clients separate, feed them the information they are entitled to and feed the police what is necessary and not raise too much suspicion.

It’s a fun read and a good mystery.