The Second Confession (A Nero Wolfe Mystery Book 15)

As all of the books in this series, the events occur contemporary to the time they are written. Stout began this novel in March 1949 and finished it in April, the events described all take place in June of that year.As the story begins Wolfe receives a wealthy business man, James Sperling, who insists upon hiring Wolfe to solve a domestic problem, the sort of case that does not appeal to Wolfe at all, but the brownstone is an expensive enterprise to run and so Wolfe hears the man out, and agrees to accept the commission according to his own terms. The problem is the man's youngest daughter, Gwen, has insisted upon a suitor that her parents find most unsuitable. The father is seeking proof that the man is a Communist, something that would cause the young woman to break off the relationship of her own accord.In order to obtain the necessary proof Archie is dispatched to join, incognito, a house party at the family estate. Wolfe and Archie foresee few difficulties in this plan, both are confident in Archie's ability to either obtain the desired information or to distract the young woman from her unsuitable beau. Sadly their confidence was misplaced. Archie did manage to get the desired proof but with some unwanted complications and when he returned to the brownstone discovered that their current case had once again brought them to the attention of the mysterious arch villain Zeck. While Archie was away on the case Wolfe had been warned to either drop the case or suffer the consequences. As Archie and Wolfe discuss the problem they discover what consequences Zeck has chosen to visit upon them - an attack on Wolfe's precious orchids.Rather than scaring Wolfe off the attack has only strengthened his resolve, driving him out of the brownstone and into the wilds of Westchester county to solve the case. Before he manages to restore order, and expose the truth, Wolfe is required to stay away from the brownstone overnight, make due with meals that are well beneath his usual standards, consort with known Communists, ghost write newspaper articles and extract Archie from a charge of at least manslaughter.This novel, like most in the series, can certainly be read and enjoyed out of order but it does refer to previous encounters with Zeck, and the ending strongly implies that this will not be the final encounter with Zeck.

In “The Second Confession” (1949) and the following novel, “In the Best Families” (1950), Nero Wolfe tangles with Rex Stout’s own version of Professor Moriarity, a crime boss named Arnold Zeck. 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. Also, when seen from the perspective of the 21st Century, the American Communist Party, another villain in this novel, seems more pathetic than sinister. Nevertheless, Archie and his brilliant boss are in fine form, so “The Second Confession” is definitely worth reading.Wealthy industrialist, James Sperling asks Nero Wolfe to investigate his daughter’s boyfriend, Louis Rony, whom he believes to be a communist. Soon Wolfe gets a phone call warning him off of the case. He and Archie recognize the voice, and realize that Rony is involved in something far more menacing than the American Communist Party.When Wolfe and Archie persist in their investigation, Zeck issues a particularly nasty warning shot over their bow. Now the good guys are more determined than ever to uncover Rony’s secret. Wolfe even lets himself be driven to Sperling’s palatial residence in an automobile. Then in a strange plot twist, Wolfe and his bête noir find themselves on the same side of this baffling case.“The Second Confession” sets up the final confrontation between good and evil—the Reichenbach Falls episode, as it were—in the next mystery in this series, "In the Best Families."

The Second Confession is another in the long line of Nero Wolfe novels. The story begins with a man coming to Wolfe and asking him to prove that the man his daughter is dating is a communist so he can force the two to break up. Wolfe wisely amends the terms of the deal by opening it up to include any facts that would make him unacceptable to the daughter rather than limiting it to communism. When he begins digging into the man's past, it raises the ire of a man named Arnold Zeck (who previously appeared in  And Be a Villain (Crime Line) (Crime Line) ). Zeck is a powerful crime lord reminiscent of Professor Moriarty and when Wolfe fails to stop investigating he has the orchid room destroyed by machine gun fire to make his point. From here, there are many twists and turns until the mystery is solved and justice is served.Archie sparkles as always while investigating first the background and then the murder of the possible communist with gangster ties. When he tries to slip a mickey into the drink of one suspect so he can search the guy's room, he gets a nasty surprise that is so entertaining that it alone is worth buying the book for.Some reviewers suggest that the mere investigation of someone's possible status as a communist makes this book dated. I really don't see that. By this definition, any old detective story is dated because they don't have cell phones, hair and fiber analysis, etc. All stories set during WWII would be dated by mere mention of Nazis. That's just silly. It is one thing for a story to be clearly set in a past time, which this one is. As long as the story itself still works and is entertaining than I personally do not consider it dated.While I would not rate this as one of the very best Nero Wolfe novels, it is far from the worst. The story moves along nicely and there is a good deal of the trademark humor that makes the series so enjoyable. It is also the second of three Arnold Zeck books and this one is referred to quite often in the third part,  In the Best Families (Crime Line) . If you are interested in reading that book, you would do well to read this one first.

What Stout does better than others is the background colour, especially his magnificent two central characters. This book sees them both at their bickering, but symbiotic best. The mystery is however no more than serviceable, with any number of red herrings left unexplained at the end as are the rather more important question of the interest of Wolfe's Moriarty and the political involvement or otherwise of the perpetrator. The mark of the author's genius is that you don't notice these holes until after the event.

I would recommend this sale to anybody, the book is a fantastic story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I am really pleased with this fantastic book at such a low cost.

One of the best written and most suspenseful of the entire Nero Wolfe canon. This fascinating details Wolfe's struggle with the most sinister opponent he ever had!

Still only two thirds the way through and I cannot imagine how it will twist next. Building tension more than the usual swiping away of lesser mortals.

Enjoyed this immensely. But wish I had started reading them in correct order. Will now start with the first one and work my way through them !