All 47 Nero Wolfe Books In Order at Book DNA

1
Fer-de-lance

As any herpetologist will tell you, the fer-de-lance is among the most dreaded snakes known to man. When someone makes a present of one to Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin knows he's getting dreadully close to solving the devilishly clever murders of an immigrant and a college president. As for Wolfe,…

Ernest's list on the best historical murder mysteries creating empathy & self-knowledge by building bridges between past & present

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2
The League of Frightened Men

Book cover of The League of Frightened Men

Paul Chapin’s college cronies never quite forgave themselves for instigating the tragic prank that left their friend a twisted cripple. Yet with their hazing days at Harvard far behind them, they had every reason to believe that Paul himself had forgiven them—until a class reunion ends in a fatal fall,…

Gayleen's list on the best hard-boiled comfort reads for a disappointing world

3
The Rubber Band

“Nero Wolfe towers over his rivals. . . . He is an exceptional character creation.”—New Yorker

What do a Wild West lynching and a respected English nobleman have in common? On the surface, absolutely nothing. But when a young woman hires his services, it becomes Nero Wolfe’s job to look…

4
The Red Box

A lovely woman is dead, and the fortunes of overextended theatrical producer Llewellyn Frost depend on solving the mystery of the red box: two pounds of candied fruits, nuts and creams, covered with chocolate -- and laced with potassium cyanide.

When Nero Wolfe's suspicion falls on Frost's kissing cousin, Frost…

5
Too Many Cooks

As Nero Wolfe prepares to speak at a gathering of the world’s great chefs, one is found indelicately murdered. When the target for killing shifts to himself, the great detective must close this case quickly or his next meal may be his last.

World-class cuisine, charming company . . .…

Glen's list on the best books about loners whose passions lure them toward other people

6
Some Buried Caesar

An automobile breakdown strands Nero Wolfe and Archie in the middle of a private pasture—and a family feud over a prize bull. A restaurateur’s plan to buy the stud and barbecue it as a publicity stunt may be in poor taste, but it isn’t a crime . . . until…

Chuck's list on the best crime fiction with a droll sense of humor

7
Over My Dead Body

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8
Where There's a Will

Why did the late multimillionaire Noel Hawthorne leave his sisters, April, May, and June, a peach, a pear, and an apple? Why did he will the bulk of his considerable estate to a woman who was most definitely not his wife? Now Nero Wolfe, able, astute, and unscrupulous detective that…

9
Black Orchids

Nero Wolfe has left his comfortable brownstone for the promise of a remarkably rare black orchid at a flower show—but before Wolfe and his perennially hardy sidekick, Archie Goodwin, have a chance to stop and smell the roses, a diabolically daring murder takes place right under their noses and puts…

10
Not Quite Dead Enough

The army wants Nero Wolfe urgently, but he refuses their clarion call to duty. It takes Archie Goodwin to titillate Wolfe’s taste for crime with two malevolent morsels: a corpse that refuses to rest in peace and a sinister “accident” involving national security. It’s up to the Grandiose Master himself,…

11
The Silent Speaker

When a powerful government official, scheduled to speak to a group of millionaires, turns up dead, it is an event worthy of the notice of the great Nero Wolfe. Balancing on the edge of financial ruin, the orchid-loving detective grudgingly accepts the case. Soon a second victim is found bludgeoned…

12
Too Many Women

Archie Goodwin goes to work on Wall Stret when corpulent sleuth Nero Wolfe takes on a ruthless killer involved in two hit-and-run "accidents"

13
And Be a Villain

Madeline Fraser, radio talk show host extraordinaire, had a natural dread of dead air. So when one of her on-air guests signed off at the mike after drinking a glass of a sponsor’s beverage, it was a broadcaster’s nightmare come true. Enter Nero Wolfe. He agrees to take the case,…

14
Trouble in Triplicate

They all thought they were about to die . . . and they were right. Dazy Perrit was an underworld kingpin until a hail of bullets sent him into early retirement. Ben Jensen was a well-connected publisher until a determined gunman severed all his connections. Eugene R. Poor made novelties…

15
The Second Confession

When a millionaire businessman hires Nero Wolfe to probe the background of his daughter’s boyfriend, it seems like just another case of an overprotective father. But when a powerful gangland boss “counsels” the detective to drop the matter, Wolfe receives a warning: a burst of machine-gun fire through the windows…

16
Three Doors to Death

One by one they knock on the door of the incomparable Nero Wolfe, each with a case more perplexing than the one before. First comes the niece of a man who committed suicide by jumping naked into a geyser, only to return just in time to be murdered. Then it’s…

17
In the Best Families

The aging millionairess has a problem: where is her young playboy husband getting all his money? To help find the answer, Archie infiltrates a party at her palatial estate. But her late-night murder ruins the festive mood . . . and a letter bomb from a powerful crime boss makes…

Danny's list on the best books for when the long arm of the law isn’t long enough

18
Curtains for Three

Three clever murderers challenge Nero Wolfe in cases involving lovers who want to make sure neither is a killer, a stable full of suspects in the search for a killer on horseback, and a murderer stalking Wolfe's brownstone. Reissue.

19
Murder by the Book

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

Introduction by David Handler

It wasn’t Leonard Dykes’s writing style that offended. But something in his unpublished tome seemed to lead everyone who read it to a very…

20
Triple Jeopardy

Don’t tempt Nero Wolfe to find the culprit. When foul play’s the game, he always wins—and in these three crime puzzles, the stakes are high.

Home to Roost
Somebody at the dinner table dropped a poison pellet into the vitamin addict's pill-box.

The Cop-Killer
The murdered cop carried the clue…

21
Prisoner's Base

When Priscilla Eads, heiress to cotton-towel millions, first pleads for Nero Wolfe’s assistance, the portly detective decides to wash his hands of a case that has more than its share of dirty laundry. Just hours later Miss Eads and her maid are found strangled to death under circumstances that don’t…

22
The Golden Spiders

Nero Wolfe was almost as famous for his wealthy clients and extravagant fees as for his genius at detection. So why has he accepted a case for $4.30? And why have the last two people to hire him been ruthlessly murdered? Wolfe suspects the answers may lie in the story…

23
Three Men Out

The legendary Nero Wolfe finds himself deep in foul territory in these three baffling cases of murder and mayhem. In the first, some sharp questions about a poisoning come to an abrupt end—as in death by a blunt instrument. Then Wolfe must decode the last message of a competitor who…

24
The Black Mountain

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25
Before Midnight

The scent of murder is in the air at the great Pour Amour perfume contest, and the incomparable Nero Wolfe is intent on sniffing out the killer. The foul deed is committed during the contest’s final round. Only five riddles separate the contestants from the million-dollar cash prize when someone…

26
Three Witnesses

Three witnesses hold all the clues in three crimes of passion that have even Nero Wolfe guessing to the very end.

Did the dead millionaire who suddenly came back to life—only to end up dead again—write his own death warrant years before? Will the black Labrador retriever who follows Archie…

27
Might as Well Be Dead

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

Eleven years ago, wealthy Nebraska businessman James Herold gave his only son, Paul, a very raw deal. Now he wants Nero Wolfe to track Paul down so that…

28
Three for the Chair

Follow the world’s greatest detective, Nero Wolfe, on a trail of money, mayhem, and murder in three cases of capital crime.

The trail of bodies begins with the death of a self-made millionaire, a fortune in uranium, and the perfect weapon . . . which no longer exists. Then it’s…

29
If Death Ever Slept

Murder lurks in the wings of the sprawling Fifth Avenue penthouse of multimillionaire Otis Jarrell, who has just retained the incomparable Nero Wolfe on a case of the utmost confidentiality. But even the master detective cannot prevent tragedy when it inevitably arrives wielding Jarrell’s missing revolver. Soon a second victim…

30
And Four to Go

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

Embark on a year of murder and mystery. It begins at Christmas with a party and a poisoning, then blossoms into spring with sudden death at the Easter…

31
Champagne for One

Faith Usher had a decidedly morbid personality. She talked about taking her life, and kept cyanide in her purse. So when she collapses and dies from a lethal champagne cocktail in the middle of a high society dinner party, everyone calls it suicide—including the police. But Archie was watching it…

32
Plot It Yourself

When a group of publishers and writers hires Wolfe to solve a case of false plagiarism, it's time for the great detective to hit the books. Four unrelated accusers—including a down-and-out hack writer and a lady poet with a penchant for nude sunbathing—have been fleecing bestselling authors, claiming the authors…

33
Three at Wolfe's Door

Book by Stout Rex

34
Too Many Clients

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.

35
The Final Deduction

When high-society kidnapping unexpectedly turns to very seamy murder, all concerned turn to the great detective, Nero Wolfe, for the missing piece in the puzzle.

A missing typewriter, a mysterious ransom note—and a beautiful corpse.

Step into the unassuming Thirty-fifth Street brownstone, and join in the astounding exploits of Nero…

36
Homicide Trinity

It’s a wily killer who dares to strike on Nero Wolfe’s hallowed turf—and leave a corpse strangled with Wolfe’s own soup-stained tie. But no sooner does the gourmandizing sleuth clean up this first course of murder than he faces a gun-toting wife who serves up a confession of homicidal intent—only…

37
Gambit

Master sleuth Nero Wolfe and his confidential assistant Archie Goodwin match wits with a deadly adversary to solve a bizarre murder that takes place during a chess game at a private club

38
The Mother Hunt

When an abandoned baby is left on her doorstep, the young socialite widow knows only too well the identity of the father: her deceased philanderer of a husband. But who is the mother? The case seems like child's play to Nero Wolfe, until the first dead body. While the police…

39
Trio for Blunt Instruments

Book cover of Trio for Blunt Instruments

If Nero Wolfe and his sidekick, Archie, would ever admit to an Achilles' heel-which they wouldn't-it would be a weakness for damsels in distress. In these three charming chillers the duo answer the call of helpless heroines with nothing to lose-except their lives. First a beautiful young Aphrodite comes to…

40
A Right to Die

When a bright young heiress with a flair for romance and one too many enemies is found brutally murdered, Nero Wolfe and his sidekick, Archie, find themselves embroiled in a case that is not as black and white as it first appears.

Susan Brooke has everything going for her. Men…

41
The Doorbell Rang

42
Death of a Doxy

43
The Father Hunt

44
Death of a Dude

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…

Lawrence's list on the best mysteries with private detectives who pursue justice with both brilliant intellect and seat-of-the-pants, street smart action

45
Please Pass the Guilt

46
Family Affair

47
Death Times Three

47 Nero Wolfe books in order

1 Fer-de-lance

Ernest's list on the best historical murder mysteries creating empathy & self-knowledge by building bridges between past & present

2 The League of Frightened Men

Gayleen's list on the best hard-boiled comfort reads for a disappointing world

3 The Rubber Band

4 The Red Box

5 Too Many Cooks

Glen's list on the best books about loners whose passions lure them toward other people

6 Some Buried Caesar

Chuck's list on the best crime fiction with a droll sense of humor

7 Over My Dead Body

8 Where There's a Will

9 Black Orchids

10 Not Quite Dead Enough

11 The Silent Speaker

12 Too Many Women

13 And Be a Villain

14 Trouble in Triplicate

15 The Second Confession

16 Three Doors to Death

17 In the Best Families

Danny's list on the best books for when the long arm of the law isn’t long enough

18 Curtains for Three

19 Murder by the Book

20 Triple Jeopardy

21 Prisoner's Base

22 The Golden Spiders

23 Three Men Out

24 The Black Mountain

25 Before Midnight

26 Three Witnesses

27 Might as Well Be Dead

28 Three for the Chair

29 If Death Ever Slept

30 And Four to Go

31 Champagne for One

32 Plot It Yourself

33 Three at Wolfe's Door

34 Too Many Clients

35 The Final Deduction

36 Homicide Trinity

37 Gambit

38 The Mother Hunt

39 Trio for Blunt Instruments

40 A Right to Die

41 The Doorbell Rang

42 Death of a Doxy

43 The Father Hunt

44 Death of a Dude

Lawrence's list on the best mysteries with private detectives who pursue justice with both brilliant intellect and seat-of-the-pants, street smart action

45 Please Pass the Guilt

46 Family Affair

47 Death Times Three