Golden Age of Detective Fiction

Murder in E Minor is the first Nero Wolfe mystery written by Robert Goldsborough and is a direct continuation of the series by Rex Stout, with this book taking place two years after Stout’s last novel, A Family Affair. This new series is written with the express permission of Stout’s estate and features all of the principal characters: Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin, and of course, the esteemed chef, Fritz.

It’s been a long, dull two years since Wolfe was betrayed by a close confidant in A Family Affair. He has closed himself up in his brownstone, eating, tending to his orchids, and refusing all cases. Archie, his right-hand man, is tired of treading water, waiting for Wolfe to waken from his slumber, and Fritz is nearly at his wit’s end, knowing that his delicious meals have provided no respite and that the coffers are dwindling. Low funds, once Wolfe’s primary motivator, have lost their luster. The inhabitants at the brownstone wonder if Nero Wolfe will ever work again.

However, when an old Montenegrin friend, named Milan Stevens is found dead in his apartment, Nero awakes. He owes Stevens a debt, one of honor, that was accrued when Stevens saved his life during their freedom fighting days during their youth. When, Stevens neice, whose fiance Stevens hated has been framed for his murder, she pleas for Nero to investigate and Nero accepts to pay his debt of honor.

The Review

Robert Goldsborough does a fantastic job reassuring the original characters from the Nero Wolfe franchise, and I can tell he has a genuine love and affinity for the series. Several plot lines brought up in other Stout books are picked up again and given new life. This book seems like a spiritual sequel to Rex Stout’s Over My Dead Body, which really delved into Wolfe’s life during the war and his family. While the former dealt with his family, this story fleshes out Wolfe’s freedom fighter days, reuniting him with old friends and bringing old grudges long since buried in the past to the fore.

I really liked focusing on Wolfe’s guerilla warfare days since they seem so distant and remote from the blustering, sedantary man who has devoted himself to using his mind over using weapons. Wolfe’s deliberate choice to leave his past behind him and to eschew the futile brutality of hate is a stark contrast to the killer and their motive, which was an interesting theme to follow in this book.

Milan Stevens is a man with a caustic and deadly temper. He terrorizes his niece and his orchestra with his outbursts and cutting remarks. He uses his power and prestige to ruin and belittle the lives of his performers with impunity. He is a man who once fought tyranny, only to become a tyrant. He is slain because of his dismissive brutality. He has left a pile of bodies in the wake of his ego, and his death uncovers the extent of the pain and suffering he has left behind. When he left Montenegro and fashioned himself a new life, career, and family, he did not lay down his cruelty in times of peace.

I liked the more philosophical themes and the more reflective and reticent Wolfe in this book. Some wounds, even time cannot heal and some friendships forged in duress do not survive when a person in whole. Wolfe already grappling with the betrayal of a long time friend and confidant from A Family Affair, reckons with another ghost of his past in Murder in E Minor, this time he wins.

I think it will be interesting to see if Wolfe will return to his blustery, sharp tongue nature, sparing with Archie at every turn, in the subsequent books. Due to the story’s more melancholy nature and Wolfe’s reticent to investigate, he gains no pleasure or delights in any payment (he takes none!) but instead investigates out of a sense of duty. He’s not excited by the puzzle; he wishes his debt to be repaid, so he takes a tepid interest in the case. Leaving Archie to do most of the investigating and talking and Wolfe coming in clutch with the vital understanding of the clues and occasionally barking off orders until the end, where he gathers all the suspects and unveils the plot a la Hercule Poirot in a country house drawing room.

This means that until the episode, Wolfe is almost a background character. Sure, he pushes his lips together once or twice while thinking, but mostly, he is drinking copious amounts of beer and staying out of the fray. There’s very little banter between Archie and Wolfe, and once given his orders, Archie is the main character, to his own dismay.

Robert Goldsborough loves Archie Goodwin and gives him plenty of chatter, wisecracking, wheeling, dealing, talking tough, man-handling dames, etc. It’s all good, but Stout’s signature crackling wit and staccato style are missing. Everything and everyone’s edges are sort of smoothed over, like they’ve been rolling around in a rock tumbler for two years, and life’s grit has shaved off their flinty nature and pointed barbs. Thematically, it really goes well with what Goldsborough is doing. Mired in grief, Wolfe is no longer the man he was, nor is he the man of his youth. He has put down his arms and, more recently, his tremendous mind for a life of peace.

I hope Goldsborough finds a way to add a bit of edge to Wolfe in future stories. Maybe an edge that isn’t so tinged with one-upping his opponents and dripping with superiority, but an edge nonetheless. Wolfe is a changed man, but a flaccid, opaque Wolfe content to melt into the background is too much to bear, especially when that thrusts Archie into the spotlight without anyone to temper his motor mouth, which moves faster than his brain.

I really enjoyed Murder in E Minor. It’s hard being the bridge in an old established series with beloved characters who, in A Family Affair, dealt with a knockout blow to Wolfe’s worldview, giving space for character growth due to the consequences of that book and then giving them reasons to grow and start on a new trajectory. Murder in E Minor handled the growing pains well, and I am curious to see where Goldsborough will take this legacy series.

Robert Goldsborough Biography

Robert Goldsborough is an American author best known for continuing the Nero Wolfe detective series created by Rex Stout. Born on October 28, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois, Goldsborough graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism. He worked as a reporter and editor for more than 40 years, primarily at the “Chicago Tribune,” where he began his career as a copyboy and later served as an editor.

Goldsborough’s association with the Nero Wolfe series began when he was commissioned by the Rex Stout estate to write new novels featuring the characters Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. His first novel in the series, “Murder in E Minor,” was published in 1986. Since then, he has penned more than a dozen additional Nero Wolfe mysteries, staying true to the original characters and style of Rex Stout’s work while adding his own unique flair.

Apart from the Nero Wolfe series, Goldsborough has also written other mystery novels, including the Snap Malek series, featuring a Chicago newspaper reporter turned amateur sleuth.

Throughout his career, Goldsborough has been praised for his ability to capture the essence of Rex Stout’s iconic characters while crafting intricate and engaging mysteries of his own. His dedication to preserving the legacy of Nero Wolfe has earned him a loyal following among fans of classic detective fiction.