Death Times Three by Rex Stout
Death Times Three turns out to be three short stories and not even original ones. They’re all different versions of existing stories or stories that were previously published elsewhere. If this were Agatha Christie/Miss Marple instead of Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe, I’d be pissed because I’d have already read them all, but I haven’t read enough Nero Wolfe to be able to tell the difference.
The stories were good. I like Stout’s snappy style though I’m often a little mystified by what he means in places but I suspect he’s being intentionally vague. He does that thing where the narrator figures something out but doesn’t tell the reader a lot. That’s one of my least favorite gambits but he doesn’t use it for long – just before the denouement generally – so I can forgive it. I’m sure I’ll read more Nero Wolfe, although I can envision the things that make the books similar – the endless bickering between the two of them, for instance – will get too repetitious to endure in time.