Friday, September 18, 2009

Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout




The soft cover of the edition I read proudly states “Named One of the Century’s 100 Favorite Mysteries by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association”. Not shabby at all. I found it to be a fun read but I could not see what set it above any of the hundreds of other mysteries I’ve read from the twentieth century. In fact, I found it rather formulaic: set in an opulent nineteen-thirties community (like Agatha Christie), a sleuth that is confident to the point of arrogance (like Nelson DeMille) and a tough-talking detective that’s attractive to the ladies (like [insert any author’s name here]). There were also the selfish rich SOB and the ubiquitous femme fatale.

But as I mentioned earlier, ‘Caesar’ was enjoyable to read. The witty banter between Wolfe’s sidekick Archie Goodwin and the self-professed man-eater Lily Rowan was the hight point of the writing although hard to follow. Why did she keep telling him to kiss her in the second line of every conversation? I didn’t get it.

Rex Stout was a prolific writer and I’m certain that of his numerous works there are other mysteries more worthy of this honor than ‘Caesar’.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

New York Renaissance Faire

After missing last year, I got to visit the New York Renaissance Faire and listen to the awesome Crimson Pirates!