Refresh and try again. And that’s when things start to get interesting... Sperling hired Nero Wolfe to prove that his daughter's suitor was a Communist thus legitimizing his objections to Gwenn's bad choice... what Archie found was a can of worms instead because Wolfe's probing via Archie and the rest of Wolfe's operatives clearly indicates that Ron was the mysterious and sinister Mr. Zeck's agent and that Wolfe's precious orchids were the casualties having been sub~machined gunned as well as tommy~gunned... fortunately Theodore, Wolfe's zealous orchid man survived th. Vote for Familiars. He hates Commies, and besides, his daughter would not marry a communist. To see what your friends thought of this book. It has ever since born the name of the Second London Confession. Nero Wolfe versus an American Professor Moriarity, Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2021. I've read a few of these now after the Pulp Fiction Goodreads group introduced me to the splendid character of Nero Wolfe when they chose "Fer De Lance" as a monthly read one month. 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 of his orchid room. taehyungxjimin, btsjimin, bts. For having liked the first few books of his that I read, I’m very disappointed he showed so little apparent effort in his writing. Apparently Rex Stout wrote his first Nero Wolfe book at 47 (a hopeful thought) and then dashed off a couple a year until he died in his 90s. I may mourn when I've completed the series. I would recommend this sale to anybody, the book is a fantastic story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. This is the second confession that I’m gonna write to you. Punch out a novel, however bad, take the money, publish another novel… After seventeen or so books, I’m quite near giving up on the series. Once he discovered that people on staff were working to make the magazine communist-oriented, he and several others fought hard to prevent it. Recommended indeed! Another brilliant entertaining well~written piece of deduction and detection and Wolfe may object to the abundance of adjectives but... it is what it is. Sperling just seemed like he was overreacting about the Communism, more than should be warranted for something like that. This was a very enjoyable old style mystery written in 1949. When someone goes one better and puts Rony out of the way for good, Wolfe refuses to accept the case is closed. Christ touches our life through ea… The Second Confession. There is not as much humor in this one as many of the others lately have had, but there is a far more convincing romance between Archie and the female "lead" than in, say, "Before I Die." Arnold Zeck is Nero Wolfe's counterpart to Sherlock Holmes' Moriarty. This story is notable for the fact that homebody Wolfe actually leaves his house to investigate a case, something he hardly ever does. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Wolfe is retained to finish a fairly pedestrian piece of work because he needed money. No wonder Rex Stout ended up fighting against McCarthyism. It was given to me to read by a devout Rex Stout fan, and this is my first Nero Wolfe mystery. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. e 2 Tim. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. Something went wrong. I very much enjoyed Wolfe's efforts to make sure he protects Archie from this potential criminal mastermind, and what Zeck does to Wolfe shows that he's right to be protective. But I enjoyed the writing and both Nero Wolfe and the narrator, Archie Goodwin, and would re. Dodgeball and Murphy's Law. These ( Nero Wolfe ) series are excellent detective mysteries despite the language of the era in which they are written . Sometimes we get nervous about going to confession. I’m not too fond of plots that rely on evil James Bondian overlords, so these Zeck novels are not my favorite Nero Wolfe mysteries. Freddy kept opening boxes, pulling out half of the contents and then leaving it to start going through another one. In the next section, the confession introduces a difficult but important distinction between first and second causes. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2014. (Of course I didn't learn this until after I'd finished reading and mentioned it to friends.) It's rather hard to believe that, following publication of this book, Rex Stout was accused of communist activity. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Cart Lazy is the only word that comes to mind. The Second Confession is similar to these books: Gambit (novel), Death of a Doxy, The Black Mountain (novel) and more. Broadly, a local church’s confession needs to serve two functions. Second confession. 3. ‎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. There was a problem loading your book clubs. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published Dozens.”, A Position of One's Own: Ordinal Numbers: First, Second... Last, Finding the 1,000 Books to Read in a Lifetime. P. G. Wodehouse once said, “Stout’s supreme triumph was the creation of Archie Goodwin.” That’s how I’ve always felt about it, too. Other than that, I’ve felt a serious drop-off in quality from Stout’s writing and storytelling since the earliest of the books. Rex Todhunter Stout (1886 – 1975) was an American crime writer, best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." The Nero Wolfe mystery “The Second Confession” by Rex Stout opens with the millionaire owner of the Continental Mines Corporation hiring Wolfe to investigate his daughter’s boyfriend. I don’t want to go into another long explanation of my history with the Rex Stout novels. What Stout does better than others is the background colour, especially his magnificent two central characters. Sam and Freddy were up in her attic bedroom, going through the haphazardly stacked boxes against walls. When the client, Sperling, first got all riled up and wanted Wolfe to prove that Rony was a Communist, I was a bit baffled, because it didn't seem like such a big deal. Stout began this novel in March 1949 and finished it in April, the events described all take place in June of that year. THE SECOND LONDON CONFESSION IN AMERICA. When I returned those first Rex Stout books to my librarian, I said to her, “Do you have any more of these Archie Goodwin stories?” She smiled, I recall, and said, “Why, yes. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2014. I just can't get enough Nero Wolfe. We’ve grown up. Once he discovered that people on staff were working to make the magazine communist-oriented, he and several others fought hard to prevent it. The second confession by Rex Stout, 1973, Tom Stacey edition, in English This was a very enjoyable old style mystery written in 1949. Facts in the matter: Rex Stout helped to found the magazine, and contributed some articles, but was never an editor. He hates Commies, and … However long it has been, however bad the sin, however embarrassed you feel – don’t let anything stop you from going to confession. In the previous couple of book, the common enemies were Japan/Germany (WWII). One of the best written and most suspenseful of the entire Nero Wolfe canon. This is the second book with Wolfe's arch nemesis, Zeck, or as Archie calls him, "The man whose name I don't remember." Some current mystery writers can be traced back to Rex Stout's classics . 0. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. I like how that frustrates the detectives as much as it frustrated me as reader. “It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. Because it was adopted by the Philadelphia Association of Baptist Churches in the 18th century, it is also known as the Philadelphia Confession of Faith. I am a sucker for a great conversation. Please try again. The Second Confession. From what her father had said I had expected an intellectual treat in a plain wrapper, but the package was attractive enough to take your attention off of the contents....she was not in any way hard to look at, and those details which had been first disclosed when she appeared in her swimming rig were completely satisfactory.”, “When, sometime around my fortieth birthday, I was struck by the urge to try to write a novel, I was vastly comforted to learn that Rex Stout didn’t write his first Nero Wolfe tale until he was forty-seven, and that he proceeded to write them right up to his death at the age of eighty-eight. Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2019. But what matters is the presence of Jesus in our life through the ministry of the priest, and not the personality of the priest. I very much enjoyed Wolfe's efforts to make sure he protects Archie from this potential criminal mastermind, and what Zeck does to Wolfe shows that he's right to be protective. Unable to add item to List. Then the lawyer boyfriend turns up dead, leaving Archie the number one suspect. Please try again. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. The seal of Confession is a marvel of the Church’s pastoral care of souls. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. But in the process of working on the case he recieves a threatening call demanding that he drop the case. Apparently the accusation centered on his being one of the editors of a communist magazine. Sperling hired Nero Wolfe to prove that his daughter's suitor was a Communist thus legitimizing his objections to Gwenn's bad choice... what Archie found was a can of worms instead because Wolfe's probing via Archie and the rest of Wolfe's operatives clearly indicates that Ron was the mysterious and sinister Mr. Zeck's agent and that Wolfe's precious orchids were the casualties having been sub~machined gunned as well as tommy~gunned... fortunately Theodore, Wolfe's zealous orchid man survived the assault. Topic. It was given to me to read by a devout Rex Stout fan, and this is my first Nero Wolfe mystery. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Perhaps had the story had more velocity. The story was collected in the omnibus volume Triple Zeck (Viking 1974).. Nero Wolfe takes a case in which a wealthy businessman wants to find out if the man courting his youngest daughter is secretly a member of the Communist Party. The second book in the Zeck Trilogy. As all of the books in this series, the events occur contemporary to the time they are written. Read The Second Confession from the story Our Secret (VMIN) by tvminj (지현) with 2,424 reads. Also, when seen from the perspective of the 21st Century, the American Communist Party, another villain in this novel, seems more pathetic than sinister. So I figure I’m reading them at about the same rate as he produced them, and am hopeful I will st. I’ve been reading the Archie Goodwin mysteries (as I call them because it's the quality of Archie’s narration, not Wolfe’s deductive skills or idiosyncrasies that make the series great) at a rate of about two per year for some time, and I'm up to the 15th book. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. All which are given by the (e) inspiration of God, to be the rule of Faith and Life. It started innocently enough. 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