(pb; 1936, 1937: fourth book in the forty-six-book Nero Wolfe detective series)
From the back cover
“Murder by chocolate? That’s
the premise Nero Wolfe must operate from when a beautiful woman is poisoned
after indulging in a box of candy. It’s a case that the great detective—no
stranger himself to overindulgence—is loath to take for a variety of reasons,
including that it may require that he leave his comfortable brownstone But he
and Archie are compelled by a mystery that mixes high fashion and low motives.
. . and a killer who may have made the deadliest mistake.”
Review
The fourth Nero Wolfe novel, more blunt and potentially violent than previous Wolfe works, shows the titular detective (with help from his right-hand man, Archie Goodwin) solving (and proving) the possibly accidental murder of a young prankster (Molly Lauck) via caramel candy poisoning. When mostly troublesome witnesses, suspects, their family members, and the police (again led by Inspector Kramer) show up—sometimes summoned by Wolfe—the situation heats up, becomes more urgent by more poison-related killings.
The primary reason for Box’s tonal shift is that Archie Goodwin, who narrates the Nero books, has become more straightforward, caustic, and willing to lay hands on anyone who insults or threatens his employer—perhaps a reaction to the physical threats he and Wole have faced in previous books?
Still present tone-wise is Wolfe’s erudite utterances, the humorous undertone of Wolfe and Goodwin’s interactions, as well as the effective, believable twists of the case and those involved. As excellent as the last two books (even with its tonal shift), Box is a definite-check-out read. Followed by Too Many Cooks (1938).
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