Too Many Cooks

Emma's hooked on these books!

Once I discovered Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, there was no going back. The Nero Wolfe Mysteries have long been considered classics, but I never looked into them because ... I don't know why. I just didn't. Then my elderly mom discovered them. She couldn’t stop telling me about patrician, cantankerous, brilliant, outrageous Nero Wolfe, the great New York City detective, and his "man of action," Archie Goodwin. In addition to being the muscle, Archie writes about his boss's exploits in a crackling good style with laugh-out-loud comments. I read a short story, and I was hooked.

There are many excellent Nero Wolfe books, but I am recommending Too Many Cooks because it’s a cozy mystery masterpiece, full stop. Wolfe is at his most demanding, Archie is at his most exasperated, and the narrative rolls along grandly without ever stopping. I adored it.

NOTE: This book was written around 1936, and in some places, it shows. Readers who prefer thoroughly modern books may find better options elsewhere.

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