Murder by the Book is a Nero Wolfe mystery novel by Rex Stout published in 1951 by the Viking Press, and collected in the omnibus volume Royal Flush (1965).
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Author | Rex Stout |
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Cover artist | Bill English |
Language | English |
Series | Nero Wolfe |
Genre | Detective fiction |
Publisher | Viking Press |
Publication date | October 12, 1951 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
Pages | 248 pp. (first edition) |
ISBN | NA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Preceded by | Curtains for Three |
Followed by | Triple Jeopardy |
Plot summary
Because the New York police have written the case off as an accident, a Peoria businessman asks Wolfe to investigate the hit-and-run death of his daughter, a reader for a book publishing company, in Van Cortlandt Park. Wolfe connects her death to a list of names he was recently shown by Inspector Cramer, related to a stalled homicide investigation — and concludes there is a second murder. A third murder validates Wolfe's conclusion, and Archie follows the trail of an unpublished novel to California and back.
Adaptations
Nero Wolfe (Paramount Television)
Murder by the Book was adapted for the NBC TV series Nero Wolfe (1981), starring William Conrad as Nero Wolfe and Lee Horsley as Archie Goodwin. "Murder by the Book" aired March 13, 1981.
External links
- Nero Wolfe — "Murder by the Book" at TV.com
Release details
- 2006, USA, The Audio Partners Publishing Corp., Mystery Masters ISBN 1572705361 June 28, 2006, audio CD (unabridged, read by Michael Prichard)
- 1995, USA, Bantam ISBN 0553763113 September 1, 1995, paperback