Death of a Dude

By: Rex Stout

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

The mountain couldn’t come to Wolfe, so the great detective came to the mountain—to Lame Horse, Montana, to be exact. Here a city slicker got a country girl pregnant and then took a bullet in the back. Wolfe’s job was to get an innocent man exonerated of the crime and catch a killer in the process. But when he packed his silk pajamas and headed west, he found himself embroiled in a case rife with local cynicism, slipshod police work, and unpleasant political ramifications. In fact, Nero Wolfe was buffaloed until the real killer struck again, underestimating the dandified dude with an unerring instinct for detection.

Introduction by Don Coldsmith

“It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore.”—The New York Times Book Review

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 the greatest fictional detectives of all time. Together, Stout and Wolfe have entertained—and puzzled—millions of mystery fans around the world. Now, with his perambulatory man-about-town, Archie Goodwin, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth is back in the original seventy-three cases of crime and detection written by the inimitable master himself, Rex Stout.©1997 Rex Stout; (P)2000 Books on Tape Inc.

Critic reviews

“It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore.”—The New York Times Book Review

A great Nero Wolfe novel

I enjoy Nero Wolfe mystery books. This was an excellent read. Although some parts were a bit hard to follow.

Montana Sheriff eats crow

Nothing is better than a detective story that sticks it to a local sheriff who abuses his power. Nero leaves the Brownstone behind to help out Archie and Lilly in the wilds of Montana.

Wolf and Archie in the Wild West

Would you consider the audio edition of Death of a Dude to be better than the print version?

Both audio and print versions are excellent

What was one of the most memorable moments of Death of a Dude?

Wolf's arrival in Montana

What does Michael Prichard bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Prichard makes the characters' voices take on their personality.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I already knew the story pretty well, so I was not as compelled to keep listening to get to the end in a hurry. Instead, I savor the setting and the characters.

Any additional comments?

I love Archie, Nero, Fritz, Inspector Cramer, Saul, Fred, Orrie (sort of), Sgt. Stebbins, Lily, and all the regular characters in the Wolf stories. Most of them are absent in this one, but the local characters that were introduced were great fun.

Wonderful!

Beautifully narrated. Nero Wolfe in Montana. Archie is staying at Lily's ranch when murder occurs and Nero has to fly out from New York to solve it.

Wolfe Leaves The Brownstone For Big Sky Country!!!

Where does Death of a Dude rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Nero Wolfe remains one of my all-time favorite characters; and Michael Prichard's interpretation of Rex Stout's immortal detective & his faithful (if uber-glib) side-kick, Archie Goodwin remains my all-time favorite!
However, this particular episode left me slightly disappointed overall; the ease with which Stout causes New York's streets to materialize in one's mind doesn't seem to transfer to less-familiar environs.
Good as a stand-alone read, tho-- seemed to be fewer-than-normal references to previous episodes...

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

If This Is The Only Wolfe Story Left For You, Might As Well Complete The Set...Right?