Where There's a Will

Nero Wolfe #8

by Rex Stout

Investigating the bizarre will of late multimillionaire Noel Hawthorne--who left the bulk of his estate to his mistress and nearly nothing to his three sisters--astute sleuth Nero Wolfe stumbles upon a legacy of murder.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Detective, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, American

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 10, 1940

About the author

Rex Todhunter Stout (1886–1975) was an American crime writer, best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 (Fer-de-Lance) to 1975 (A Family Affair).

The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon 2000, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.

Reviews

[Jill Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nero Wolfe books are my go-to quick reads in between larger tomes. I only read those written by Rex Stout, the originator of the series, although it appears that those written after Stout's death by Robert Goldsborough (which I have never read), are well done. I guess I am just a purist where the originals are concerned.

Stout was never particularly known for the strength of his stories but rather for the interaction of the main characters. Clever verbal exchanges between Mr. Wolfe and his assistant, Archie and Wolfe's eccentricities are priceless. In this book, Wolfe actually leaves him home (which he seldom does) to take on a case of a contested will in a wealthy and well-connected family. Needless to say it turns into murder which is right up Wolfe's alley.

A fun read in this classic series.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always enjoyable going back to read a Nero Wolfe story. It is like a nostalgic visit with old friends. Sure it is a murder mystery but there is minimal violence. Archie is a ladies man but again no sex. Rex Stout demonstrates you can tell a good story without either. Where There's a Will was written in 1940 and the story takes place in 1939. Roadsters. Pay phones. You could buy something for a dime or even a nickel. It is pre-World War II although things are heating up in Europe.

As is usual Wolfe's bank account is getting low and he needs to do some work if he expects to maintain his lifestyle of gourmet meals prepared by personal chef Fritz Brenner and growing orchids. He has agreed to see the the three Hawthorne sisters, June; an author who is married to the US Secretary of State; May, a college president; and April, a beautiful and talented actress. Their brother, multimillionaire Noel Hawthorne, has recently died and left a most unusual will. He left his sisters a peach, a pear, and an apple. The bulk of his estate was left to a woman who was not his wife. The Hawthorne sisters, with lawyer in tow, want Wolfe to convince the beneficiary of the will to give up her inheritance, or at least the bulk of it. Noel had made certain promises including money towards May's college. Reluctantly he agrees to take on the case. Of course in a Nero Wolfe story there has to be a murder ... or two. It turns out that Noel's death was no accident and Wolfe gets to use his genius to find out who the murderer is.

In this story we are treated to Archie's wit and Inspector Cramer's pursuit of whoever he decides the murderer is (so you know who it isn't). We also learn Cramer's first name! And of course we have Saul Panzer, Fred Durkin, and Orrie Cather to assist Wolfe in his pursuit. This is the 8th book in the series and is one of the better ones ... not there is a bad one.

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. Nero Wolfe, the genius P.I. from Manhattan, does it again. We begin in his office. It's jammed with the family and hangers-on of the wealthy, but late, Noel Hawthorne. He accidently shot himself while hunting a few days ago and they urgently need Wolfe's help. They have just left Hawthorne's lawyer Glenn Prescott and the reading of the will. Almost all of his $10 million went to a relatively unknown, to them anyway, young woman named Naomi Karn. Even Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's devoted but outspoken assistant, is astonished. He's just returned from an early summer vacation in Canada, with blackfly bites to show for it, but he's soon reminding the rotund one that the firm's bank balance is precariously low and a client would be helpful - even though estate law is not Wolfe's specialty! The family's request? Can Wolfe meet with Miss Karn and negotiate a more reasonable split of the estate? Wolf is reluctant. Archie is persistent. Then the hunting accident proves to be murder. Now it's a criminal case. But the clues are well hidden - you'll enjoy it as Wolfe and Goodwin discover what's behind the curtain. Am I being mysterious? Of course. (February 2023)

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An average Nero Wolfe. And Rex Stout's average is plenty good enough for me.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where there's a will *and* Nero Wolfe, you can bet on there also being a dead body or two.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
It has its good moments but the mystery itself wasn't very interesting.

[♪ Kim N · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book opens with Archie haranguing Wolfe over a potential client. You see, Wolfe hates to work unless his bank account is low, and even then he has to be goaded into it. So imagine Archie's surprise when Wolfe not only accepts the case but voluntarily travels to the client's house in a taxicab to work on it.

Deceased businessman, Noel Hawthorne, has left the bulk of his 7 million dollar estate to his mistress, a relative pittance to his wife, and a piece of fruit each (an apple, a pear, and a peach) to his three sisters. Wolfe's job is to convince the mistress to accept a smaller sum and above all prevent the widow from contesting the will and creating a public scandal for the family.

This is a fun read. Archie is at his wisecracking best and Wolfe once again gets the jump on Inspector Cramer and D.A. Skinner.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great one: compact, to the point, with interesting suspects, snappy dialogue, and a great mystery. The wearying and typically very lengthy chapters that seem to always crop up near the end of a Nero Wolfe mystery—in which Wolfe disappears to think (or is depressed and wants to quit the case), Archie drinks milk and argues with the increasingly irritated and irritating suspects, Cramer rants and raves, and the story grinds to a halt—were kept to a minimum here (about 15 pages as opposed to the usual 50-60).

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Under normal circumstances, Nero Wolfe avoids taking cases involving wills. A combination of poor business and recent extravagant expenditures, however, force him to accept the request of the Hawthornes – sisters June, May, and April – to inquire into the recent will of their brother, Noel, who upon his death left his family’s considerable fortune not to them or to his scarred wife Daisy but to Naomi Karn, a young former secretary. As Wolfe and his leg-man Archie Goodwin attempt to reach an understanding with the comely Miss Karn over the Hawthorne fortune, the authorities arrive with unexpected news – that the death of Noel was no hunting accident as originally ruled, but a homicide demanding investigation.

Wolfe and Goodwin soon find themselves investigating a case with only limited evidence and secondhand information. Fortunately, this is how Wolfe always operates, which is why his ability to solve the mystery is sufficiently plausible. It’s a mystery containing all of the elements of the formula Rex Stout perfected over his previous half-dozen Nero Wolfe novels, with pretty women, substantial amounts of money, and the frustrated bullying of thuggish police officers and district attorneys all on display. By this point, Stout has it down to a routine, and while there are a couple of twists that the reader will see coming the moment the author sets them up it’s nonetheless a highly entertaining entry in the Nero Wolfe series.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember how many times I have gone to read a Nero Wolfe book to help me relax. I didn't remember much about this book but I did know the killer. Wolfe needed the money and is offered a job of meditating a strange will. This is one of the times Nero left his home to see the area where the murder occurred. He had the all of the PIs he uses trailing individuals. He is keeping secrets again from Archie who finds a body in the bar and Wolfe disappears. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND SERIES.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

This 8th book in the Nero Wolfe series was pretty typical. Although I hadn't read this one before, Wolfe and Archie behaved in the manner that I associate with them in my memory, though there was a little less talk about their meals than usual. Wolfe does briefly leave his brownstone to visit the client's home (a fact which surprised me no less than it did Archie & Fred!). A quick and enjoyable read.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where There's a Will by Rex Stout.

One of the best and among my favorite Nero Wolfe books in this series.

Nero is called upon by 3 sisters to investigate the death of their brother Noel Hawthorne.

Nero is busy at work reflecting on each character while he deliberates the clues. Archie on the other hand is Nero's leg man running down possibilities as required. The entire clan is present during Nero's slow but steady deduction(s) and for his finale. Cramer at his most cantankerous almost has Nero thrown into the clinker.

I truly enjoyed this most interesting of Res Stout's stories. The deducting Nero kept me focused throughout and the enthusiasm of his clan in following his leads added to my joy in reading.

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The more I read this series, the more I want to read it. Fortunately, there are 47 installments and, with this, I've read only 8 of them. I never know "who done it" but I'm not sure that's all of why I read it. I like the way Stout writes, I like the characterizations of Archie and Wolfe, I like the caricatures he also gives us. In this Kindle edition, there is an introduction by Dean Koontz in which he says: Archie Goodwin (who is, actually, more the central figure of this series than Nero Wolfe himself) is Huck Finn brought into the modern age, Huck with his emancipator’s soul intact but less naive, more cynical—yet strangely more hopeful, too. Such good insight!

For all that, I'm not sure I'd keep reading without the mystery. As usual, I guess the wrong perpetrator, though I admit I might have seen this one coming had I truly been looking for it. Instead, I just settled back and enjoyed myself, letting the whole thing wash over me, knowing Wolfe would solve the mystery in his own good time.

While for me the series is probably worth 4-stars, I think the individual installments are worth only three of them.

[Sharon Ouderkirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of talk in a Wolfe mystery, mostly because Nero Wolfe rarely leaves his home. He has operatives who do the leg work and then come in to report to him, and it is through all this talk that Wolfe demonstrates his brilliance by solving the case.
This outing started as a will dispute case, and expanded out into two murder mysteries. Noel Hawthorne died suddenly, leaving the bulk of his fortune to his mistress. His three sisters, April, May and June hire Wolfe to determine why Noel changed his will. They are trying to avoid a scandal because Noel's wife is threatening to sue the Estate. It quickly becomes apparent that Noel was murdered, and then the question of the will becomes moot when the mistress Naomi is murdered as well.
Although there were some laughs, provided by Archie Goodwin's cynical narration, I was not overly thrilled with this book. I thought the clues upon which Wolfe solved the murders were pretty weak, and if he had not got a confession, he would not have had a case. It's pretty much filler reading - for the laughs - but not a great murder mystery.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect palate-cleanser between bigger books. I feel like Archie was a little less charming in this one than he sometimes is, but I still loved him, and the book as a whole was fun.

[Bryan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not changing the stars on a re-read. It's still witty, fast paced, and completely enjoyable. But I was bothered by just one thing this time. Nero leaves the office on a very weak excuse of meeting a very important man. It just... doesn't track for me. Previously, he had only left when in fear of Archies safety, or for orchids. Now his leaving set up some extremely amusing scenes and over all does work with the story, it just felt weak. Anyway. If you haven't read Rex Stout what is the matter with you? Go get a bunch of them.

**************Original Review**********************
This book is the first time another of the constants of the Nero Wolfe universe is mentioned. The red chair. Specifically the red chair by Nero's desk. Previously to this book it was called the big chair, or the chair nearest Nero's desk or some other way. From now on it's the red chair, where Archie invariably places any attractive females so he can get a good look while they talk with Nero.

This story is a fun romp. The biggest laugh was watching Archie be discomforted by one of the other characters. My favorite line capturing that was this:

"I was certainly allergic to that damn veil. There was something about it that was bad for my nerves. I wanted to say, "Good morning, Mrs. Hawthorne," with my customary suavity, but had the feeling it would come out a yell, so I said nothing."

Poor Archie is not normally put off his game, but the Mrs. Hawthorne character really throws him off his game. That situation lead to most of the laughs as Archie compensates for it.

Again the dialog is witty and quick and the mystery convoluted and entertaining. I do have a quibble about Inspector Cramer in this story. This time he is practically rabid with the idea that Nero is concealing evidence, but there is no evidence for that position. I would expect his experience with Nero by now would lead him to have more patience in Nero's processes. Not trust, you notice, because Nero does play fast a loose with the rules always just shy of breaking the law to protect his clients interests.

[Tom Stamper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wolfe is hired by sisters to negotiate negotiate with the mistress of their late father who has inherited the lion share of the money. The sisters reminded me of an American equivalent to the Mitford sisters, each prominent in their own way. Their lawyer is a guy stuck between loyalties to them and their father. This mistress is the kind that men get tangled up with before they know it. Wolfe just needs some money. Wolfe leaves the apartment and spends the day at the sisters' mansion. He even interrupts meals and orchids for business. Saul Panzer has an operative with him that I had never seen before. Orrie Cather and Fred Durkin are also around for leg work.

Stout throws so many characters at this one that you can't keep them straight unless you read the book in one sitting. I gave up on the mystery and just enjoyed Archie's smart mouth and Cramer's irascible demeanor. Several good vocabulary words here.

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I mentioned in my review for Black Orchids, these Bantam reprints include an introduction by a current author. Dean Koontz provided this one in which he talks about his love of fiction of all types, from literary fiction to genre fiction:

I also learned from Rex Stout, among others, that popular fiction, regardless of genre, can be ambitious and can have more than a little something worthwhile to say to the reader. Archie Goodwin (who is, actually, more the central figure in this series than Nero Wolfe himself) is Huck Finn brought into the modern age, Huck with his emancipator’s soul intact but less naïve, more cynical – yet strangely more hopeful, too.

I recently compared Archie to Huck Finn myself. Both share the Midwestern soul of America. Koontz goes on to say what I’ve always said, although if I’m honest, more eloquently:

The pleasure for the reader lies, instead, in the fascination of the characters (which grows with every book one reads) and the play of the mind. The play of her mind . . . Yet these are not puzzle stories in the classic sense, like some Agatha Christie. In fact you often don’t care that much who killed whom. Stout was concerned more with the why of murder and with exploring how essentially ethical men, like Wolfe and Goodwin, different from the muck of humanity.

Now, onto the story.

As implied in the title, this story has the Last Will and Testament of a decedent at the heart of the plot. After the accidental shooting of multimillionaire Noel Hawthorne, his attorney brings the sad news to his family that Hawthorne had made a new Will in which, among other surprises, he left a specific bequest of a mere $500,000 to his wife, and the residuary estate — $7M or so — to the Other Woman, one Miss Karn.

Now, I’ll show off my legal knowledge here and comment that in many states today, including my own (Oklahoma), you cannot actually do this. In Oklahoma, it is almost impossible to disinherit a spouse to whom you are married at the time of your death. Basically, the statute (84 OK § 44, if you’re interested) provides that a surviving spouse who has been disinherited by a will can elect to take a share of the estate equal to what he or she would have been entitled to if the decedent had died intestate (without a will). The attorney I work for has successfully litigated such cases, and in one I remember well, our client was the son of a disinherited widow who had survived her husband for only a few months.

Okay, law lecture over; back to Wolfe & Archie. The Hawthorne family hires Wolfe to make a deal with Miss Karn because their widowed sister-in-law intends to contest the will and they want to avoid the publicity. N.B. Do you remember a time when famous people tried to avoid publicity? I do, but then I’m probably older than you.

Anyway, before Wolfe has much opportunity to fulfill his job, enter Inspector Cramer and DA Skinner to announce that there is substantial evidence Noel Hawthorne was actually murdered. So, add that to Wolfe’s mission. To Archie’s surprise, Wolfe feels it necessary to present himself at the Hawthornes’ NYC mansion and conduct an honest-to-goodness investigation. He isn’t making much headway, when Archie discovers Miss Karn under a bar, strangled and very dead. Wolfe hotfoots it out before the police arrive, leaving Archie to answer their questions. Typical Wolfe!

Fortunately for Wolfe’s bank account — and thus fortunately for Archie, Fritz the cook, and Theodore the orchid nurse — a clue containing the solution to the mystery is brought to the brownstone, and Wolfe arranges one of his special parties to unmask the guilty party. A satisfying solution, I thought.

Because of the legal angle, I especially enjoyed this Wolfe & Archie adventure. 4.5 stars.

[Patrick Hayes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a chore to read.

I should have known this was going to be rough when even Nero Wolfe is bemoaning that he's taking up a case involving a dispute over a will. Wolfe's finances are running low, so he's taking on a case involving the authenticity of a new will.

The death of the author of the will is dubious, as are the claims of several family members. And I mean "several" family members. They are all in Wolfe's interview room, interrupting one another, throwing accusations left and right, partnering with each other against others, and the claiming the original will is the correct one. I had a horrible time keeping track of who's who, what they did for a living, and why they thought they were entitled to the money in this scene. It was a bear to endure.

Then Wolfe leaves his residence (that was the most shocking part of the book) and goes to the family's residence where he--again--calls in family members one at a time to interview them. This was also rough to endure.

Finally, something occurs when someone is murdered and things finally speed up, with the cast of characters becoming limited. But it was too late: I just wanted to end this tale so I could move on to something else.

I've read other Nero Wolfe stories, but this was just the worst.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 2 out of 5]

ENGLISH: One of the fundamental rules of the detective novel is that the reader must have all the information at the same time as the protagonist, so that he has the opportunity to reach the same conclusion as the detective.

This novel does not comply with this rule: how can the reader deduce the identity of the murderer, ignoring that the murderer was wearing an incriminating flower on his lapel? In fact, until the last moment, when Nero Wolfe declares it, the reader is unaware that the murderer was wearing a flower on his lapel. This detail, which I consider crucial, has disappointed me.

ESPAÑOL: Una de las reglas fundamentales de la novela policiaca es que el lector debe tener todos los datos al mismo tiempo que el detective protagonista, para que tenga la oportunidad de llegar a la misma conclusión que él.

Esta novela no cumple esta regla: ¿cómo puede el lector deducir quién es el asesino si se le oculta que llevaba en la solapa una flor incriminatoria? De hecho, hasta el último momento, cuando Nero Wolfe lo dice, el lector ignora que el asesino llevara una flor en la solapa. Este detalle, que me parece crucial, me ha decepcionado.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nero and Archie and another adventure

[Margaret Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rex Stout - 08 - Where There's a Will

Copyright 1940 -- Published 1941

Except for a few passing lines about statesmen it is difficult when one reads this book to discover any clues that it was written in the run up to the Second World War and published after the entry of a number of countries into that war. Canada is mentioned in passing as the place where Goodwin had encountered black flies on his vacation. Canada was at that point already in the war. One wonders if the outline for this book had been drafted before war started breaking out or if Stout was trying to stockpile book publication against the almost inevitable outbreak of hostilities or at least diminished access to much of the English speaking publishing world.

As for the book itself -- it feels contrived and outside reality. The murder's motivations for the actions that led up to the first murder and his subsequent behaviours seem arbitrary rather than arising from a well crafted characterization. At least one of the characters seems only to exist for the purposes of being a red herring and the person who Wolfe needs to needle enough to break the case. One of Wolfe’s least convincing “brilliant pieces of detection” -- indeed one wonders, given the fact that in the end everything rests on “he said/he said” and “clue” that could easily be explained away by any adequate council one wonders if an indictment, let alone a conviction, would have ensued in the real world.

If one reads the series in order one notices by this point that Wolfe’s infamous refusal to leave his home is honoured more in the breach than in the observance. For example in this book Wolfe leaves his home on the frailest of pretests.

[FangirlNation · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1939’s Where There’s a Will by Rex Stout, Nero Wolfe gets visited by the famous Hawthorne sisters: June, wife of the U.S. Secretary of State; May, president of Varney College; and April, one of the greatest actresses ever. Their brother, Noel, one of the most powerful businessmen in the country, died in a hunting accident three days earlier at June and John Charles Dunne’s 25th anniversary party. The night before, the attorney, Glenn Prescott, read the will to the family, astonishing everyone by leaving an apple to June, a pear to May, and a peach to April, with the rest going to his mistress, Naomi Carn. To avoid a scandal, the sisters want to drop the issue, but Daisy, Noel’s widow, plans to contest the will. Daisy notoriously wears a veil after having been shot with an arrow by Noel and is full of bitterness and hatred.

Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only author I'm up to reading in sickbed, feeling like the living dead.

Which suggests that perhaps the introductory warning about the 'potentially lethal' consequences of selecting nonsequential chapters of the recently-read Wicked Weeds: A Zombie Novel, was no idle jest. Even if the non-standard Table of Contents suggests the jumbled sequence.

But actually, I think I'll probably pull through a very bad chest cold. Eventually. Hopefully there are sufficient Stouts on the shelf.

This is excellent Stout. More suspects than usual, more murders, more banter, and it all hangs together as a real story, which isn't always the case (no pun intended ;-), and that isn't why we read about Wolfe and Archie anyway).

[Diane Burnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where there’s a Will by Rex Stout has Nero Wolf taking on a case he is less than happy about doing. As things get more complicated he becomes more invested in getting it solved.
This was my first Nero Wolf mystery, I’m looking for more chances to read another.

[Emanuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un’altra bella avventura con Nero ed Archie. Un giallo ben articolato, una lettura mai noiosa ed un Archie in formissima, anche questa volta non si esime dalle divertenti stoccatine al suo capo. Fatto particolare di questa storia è l’uscita di casa di Nero, cosa molto molto rara!
Consiglio agli amanti del giallo!

[Stacie Haden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, as usual.

New York 1939

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, fun read. I always love a Nero Wolfe book where he actually leaves his brownstone! Archie was entertaining as usual.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotten how cleverly inventive Rex Stout was, both his writing and his plotting. I laughed out loud several times in the first 2 pages.

[800£Chimneypiece · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5