Hear the Chime of the Doorbell: A Story by Stout Rex

Amazon Customer: By Rex Stout. I love all the Nero Wolfe Mysteries and this is no exception. Nero and Archie vs. the FBI

United States on Jan 09, 2024

Montgomery: I always chuckled whenever "the doorbell rang" appeared in all the other NW books so when I got to the book actually titled The Doorbell Rang I was ready for a really good ride. It was better than that.

This book has risen to the top of the massive Nero Wolfe list as my favorite. In case you wonder what the bottom is, it's The Black Mountain, which is turgid and essentially charmless. It lies, only a third read, at the bottom of the stack. One day, for contrast, I may attack it again. Nah, I'd rather reread The Doorbell Rang.

United States on Jan 12, 2022

illiandantic: Rex Stout's 1965 novel  "Nero Wolfe, Book 41: Doorbell Rang, The"  is a bit different from his other Nero Wolfe murder mysteries. In this case, Wolfe takes on something that doesn't even seem possible. And in the process of solving it, he comes across his murder (sort of from the side). The flavor of this book is also a bit different. Surprisingly, I found this one to be even better than most of his already-excellent material. I have some quibbles about the police not having picked up on the clues Archie uses (yes, Archie) to solve the murder. But, that's not enough to keep me from rating this book at an Excellent 5 stars out of 5.

United States on Jun 13, 2021

YYZ: The best Wolfe I have read to date.
A well paced, clever story.
Stout handles a potentially unrealistic storyline and makes it plausible.
Following along in Archie's mind with regular summaries of the story keeps the reader immersed in the unfolding plot.
A classic of the genre.

Canada on Nov 20, 2020

C. Nicholls: OK, so the Plots are all the same but once you’re hooked by Wolfe and Goodwin and feel at home on W35th Manhattan, it’s hard to say that one is better than the next. They are all great.

United Kingdom on Oct 20, 2020

Ed Hende: I have trouble reading a lot of recently written novels. This novel is obviously written by one person who wanted to tell a very good interesting story. Too many of the novels published today at freaking ungodly prices appear to have been written by three or four different authors even though only one name appears.
This book is readable from front to back and will take the reader into the story so they can enjoy reading again.

Canada on Sep 28, 2018

ealovitt: "The Doorbell Rang" (1965) takes place during the reign of J. Edgar Hoover at the head of the FBI. Later in his career, Hoover was known to have used the FBI to harass protestors, collect secret files on political leaders, and use illegal wire-taps. Investigative journalist, Fred Cook's 1964 exposé, "The FBI Nobody Knows" must have mightily impressed Rex Stout because it is central to the plot of "The Doorbell Rang." It begins when a wealthy woman mails out 10,000 copies of the book to politicians, law enforcement officials and other influential people and, much to her anger and dismay finds herself under investigation by Hoover's FBI. She marches into Nero Wolfe's office and slaps down a retainer of $100,000 plus expenses and demands that the portly detective get the FBI off of her case.

That's a lot of shad roe, a lot of orchids.

When Wolfe decides to take up the challenge (and the retainer), the normally cocky Archie tries to talk him out of it, and his boss accuses him of having his tail between his legs. That's too much for Archie:

"I clasped my hands behind my head and eyed him. 'I still say you’re cracked,' I said, 'and I deny that my tail was...

United States on Sep 07, 2018

Kindle Customer: I am increasingly coming to the view that these books are about Goodwin with a splash of Wolfe... This is very neat and well done. This not a series about "little grey cells" or inferring a Niagara from a drop of water. Very real and very well written. Fifty years after its a period piece relevant to us even more than ever.

India on Jun 01, 2018

Gordon H.: Whether this is your first foray into the world of Nero Wolfe or have dined at his table for years, The Doorbell Rang is well worth the reading although to my mind it is not ne plus ultra of the canon.
If you are looking for a literate, funny and densely plotted old-fashioned whodunit, you will find none better than the Nero Wolfe series.The Doorbell Rang is kind of unusual in that it squares off against the FBI as an abusive, vindictive and malicious organization even though Stout mostly avoids plots with a political overtone. While he doesn't let the agency quite off the hook by the conclusion, he doesn't slaughter them either, and that ambiguity won't please everyone.
Though fairly new to the Wolfe series myself, I've been on a Nero Wolfe binge for the last couple of months and have downed at least 25 servings so far. These books are pure comfort food.Tasty, engaging and easy to digest.
Wolfe, if you haven't met him, is a genius detective and recluse, a lovable if misogynistic agoraphobe and an obese, worldly, and deeply educated gourmand. Also a grammar snob and sesquipedalian.
Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's factotum, besides being the reclusive master's fast-dancing...

United States on Feb 25, 2018

Erika Weitz: Super, daß ich das gefunden habe. Ist ein toller Krimi und war aus meinem Bestand irgendwann verschwunden. STout lohnt sich immer

Germany on Feb 21, 2013