Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Too Many Cooks is one of Rex Stout’s earlier Nero Wolfe’s books, but it’s as well put together as his later ones, which I’m more familiar with. There’s all of Wolfe’s idiosyncrasies, his food fetish (with attendant mouth-watering lists or descriptions — really, one must read these books over lunch or a one-person dinner), his fractious and dependent relationship with Archie. And then there’s Archie, the narrator. Here he shows a more flippant or flirtatious side than usual with the lady, but he is still entertaining. The mystery as usual is not that easy to solve. In fact, I didn’t, or only partially.
A Rex Stout book is a good read when you want to flow into something light yet engaging. Too Many Cooks doesn’t disappoint in this vein.
