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Robert Goldsborough

The Missing Chapter (The Nero Wolfe Mysteries) Paperback – June 21, 2016

by Robert Goldsborough (Author)

461 ratings

Book 7 of 16: The Nero Wolfe Mysteries

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When a loudmouthed, arrogant author is silenced, the reclusive master detective Nero Wolfe looks for the killer: “A very clever mystery . . . A masterly job” (Booklist).
The gun was fired close to Charles Childress’s head, and his were the only fingerprints on it, forcing the police to conclude that the author committed suicide. But his friends know this is impossible, because Childress loved himself far too much. He had just begun attracting fame, writing new mysteries starring the iconic Sergeant Barnstable, and he had bright hopes for the future. His publisher hires corpulent genius Nero Wolfe to determine who cut Childress’s career short, and the detective finds no dearth of suspects. Among the many who may have wanted the wordsmith whacked are his agent, his editor, a corrupt book reviewer, and an enraged legion of Barnstable devotees. With the help of his indefatigable assistant, Archie Goodwin, Wolfe takes a look at those closest to the arrogant, argumentative author, hoping to decide which of Childress’s associates merely hated him, and which would have been willing to kill.

Print length

254 pages
Language

English
Publisher

MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
Publication date

June 21, 2016
Dimensions

5.25 x 0.58 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

1504034783
ISBN-13

978-1504034784
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Likely to satisfy the old Rex Stout faithful.” —Publishers Weekly “A very clever mystery.” —Booklist “Goldsborough does a masterly job with the Wolfe legacy.” —Booklist

About the Author

Robert Goldsborough is an American author best known for continuing Rex Stout’s famous Nero Wolfe series. Born in Chicago, he attended Northwestern University and upon graduation went to work for the Associated Press, beginning a lifelong career in journalism that would include long periods at the Chicago Tribune and Advertising Age. While at the Tribune, Goldsborough began writing mysteries in the voice of Rex Stout, the creator of iconic sleuths Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Goldsborough’s first novel starring Wolfe, Murder in E Minor (1986), was met with acclaim from both critics and devoted fans, winning a Nero Award from the Wolfe Pack. Archie Goes Home is the fifteenth book in the series.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ MysteriousPress.com/Open Road; Reprint edition (June 21, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1504034783
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1504034784
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.58 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,112,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,624 in Private Investigator Mysteries (Books)
- #9,719 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Books)
- #11,254 in Historical Mystery

Customer Reviews:
461 ratings

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Robert Goldsborough

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Robert Goldsborough (b. 1937) is an American author best known for continuing Rex Stout’s famous Nero Wolfe series. Born in Chicago, he attended Northwestern University, and upon graduation went to work for the Associated Press, beginning a lifelong career in journalism that would include long periods at the Chicago Tribune and Advertising Age. Goldsborough’s first novel starring Wolfe, Murder in E Minor (1986), was met with acclaim from both critics and devoted fans, winning a Nero Award from the Wolfe Pack. Six more Nero Wolfe novels followed, including most recently, Archie Goodwin Meets Nero Wolfe: A Prequel to Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Mysteries (2012).

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

461 global ratings

5 star		57%
4 star		30%
3 star		10%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Kindle Customer

Enjoyable

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 29, 2022

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This is a good pastiche of the Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novels. The writing is well done and seems on point. I do not claim expertise in the details, but the overall atmosphere is authentic. I found this novel to be a good and intriguing read.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 6, 2022

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No disrespect to the real Mr. Stout,I have read all his Nero Wolfe books. Mr Gold borough d voes not miss a beat.His stories are interesting and they are paced to move right along .

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Jim Davis

Enjoyable but does not bear comparison to Stout's best

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 12, 2013

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The is was the 7th Goldsborough Nero Wolfe novel written with the permission of Rex Stout's estate. Like the rest of Goldsborough's efforts I thought the characterization was more or less spot on with a few minor reservations. Firstly, his Archie Goodwin is just a bit much; the wise cracks and sarcasm are overemphasized. Secondly, the whole broken elevator episode seemed gratuitous like Goldsborough was showing off how he can write Wolfe out of his element.

The biggest gripes I have are with the plot. There is a certain "Alice in Wonderland" feel to it as Wolfe is asked to investigate the death of a writer who has taken over writing novels about a popular detective created by a recently deceased writer. And this writer, while adequately capturing the atmosphere and character nuances of his predecessor's fictional world, has trouble constructing interesting plots. These kind of life imitating art plot devices can be made to work but I think this particular device was more annoying than clever.

Worse, I think the plot has a huge hole in it. While Wolfe's deductions are perfectly reasonable I couldn't for the life of me understand why the murderer would then confess. There didn't seem to be any proof whatsoever.

The Kindle edition of this book has a few flaws but nothing major. The worst is that the table of contents, though linked, does not appear in the Kindle menu. It can be reached by going to the beginning and going back a page. There are a couple of footnotes to previous (Stout) novels that are not linked so one has to go to the end of the chapter to see them. The book also seems to have been scanned from the print edition so there are quite a few OCR glitches like stray periods and apostrophes.

The book can be recommended but it is not up to vintage Stout levels or even the best Goldsborough. Nevertheless, it has its charms.

2 people found this helpful

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Harpy

Pastiche as meta-fiction

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 21, 2021

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This is the seventh Nero Wolff book by Robert Goldsborough who was hired to take over the series when Rex Stout died. While none of his books are up the standard of the originals, this is the best I have read so far...the fun conceit of the novel is that Archie and Nero have to solve the murder of a hack writer who took over writing a series of novels about a detective who is an “eccentric curmudgeon”. The more you know about Rex Stout...and his fan club...the more you will likely enjoy this pastiche with a dose of self parody.

One person found this helpful

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Once more Archie and Nero solve a crime

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 18, 2018

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This is not a Rex Stout Nero Wolfe mystery but one written by Robert Goldsborough which is almost, but not quite as good. Goldsborough has remained faithful to Stout's cannon, keeping all the characters and setting that have comprised this series for nearly a century. Like Stout Goldsborough has set his story in the present day so Archie has traded in his typewriter for a computer and made other accommodations to the 21st century. As Goldsborough has progressed with the series he has improved in his ability to make Stout's style and voice.

In this one though Goldborough has ventured into a bit of self parody - the plot involves a mystery writer, a continuator like Goldsborough himself who brings Archie and Nero into the world of continuing mystery novels. This is by no means a farce, just some gentle tongue in check which by no means intrudes into the business at hand.

2 people found this helpful

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Dr. Cal G. Oltrogge

Wolfian romp worthy of Rex

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 19, 2022

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A clever tale that has added frisson as the victim writes “continuation” mysteries just like the author, creating a bit of “image in the mirror” experience for readers

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 28, 2020

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In this yarn the victim is an author continuing a series by a beloved author of mysteries.
There ‘seems’ to be some parallels here to our current intrepid Archie scion. Dare I say that there is are some very personal observations going on?
Is so, Mr. Goldsboro, you have nothing to be concerned about. Your work is first rate. My only question would be, are you channeling Rex Stout, or are you his reincarnation?
At any rate I look forward to every book that you and Archie pen together.
I didn’t figure out hoodunnit until Wolf told me. The clues were there, but I was clueless.

2 people found this helpful

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Angela Raspberry

Not even close

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 23, 2021

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The author is a brave man to attempt to continue the Nero Wolfe tradition but the result is flat. Archie's witty patter has fallen by the wayside, it's on par with Jack Webb of Dragnet fame. "Just the facts, ma'am". I can't tell what decade it is set in although it's obviously after 1975, the year Stout died. I read one of the early post-Rex Stout mysteries and now I remember why I never continued. Rex Stout as Nero Wolfe was one of a kind, never to be seen again. I continue to read the originals. My paperbacks are falling apart so i have been converting to digital as they become available.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Ron Nicholson

the killer was obvious but I still got it wrong!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 3, 2015

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When I began writing, I was constantly warned that I should write what I know about. Mr Goldborough must have been told the same. His victim is an author who, on the death of a successful writer, takes on the responsibility of continuing the books that will add to the canon. After the author is found with a bullet in his head, shot with his own gun, Nero Wolfe is hired to prove that it wasn't suicide.
Whilst I genuinely enjoyed reading The Missing Chapter, I started to find the questioning of the suspects somewhat repetitious. I suppose that there are only so many questions to ask a suspect but each new chapter began to look familiar. It could easily be a cut and paste job with names changed.
The dialogue in all Nero Wolfe stories is always great but somewhat lacking in descriptions of place.
I still thoroughly recommend it for a quiet evening's read. It was difficult to put down.