This is an interesting experiment, a Nero Wolfe novel with Cramer as the central character. It's a bold departure for Goldsborough whose previous Nero Wolfe books have been uneven, handicapped by unwillingness to deviate enough from the Rex Stout canon. This is a book Rex Stout might actually have written, as of course he had no need to imitate himself.

On the plus side, the book expands the Nero Wolfe universe without distorting it. The usual characters are present in their usual roles, but we see them from a different perspective.

On the negative side, the plot is simple and obvious. There's only enough material here for a short story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media for the digital copy of this galley.

Unfortunately I found myself being ambivalent toward this continuation of the Nero Wolfe series by Robert Goldsborough. In one instance it was nice to be back in the old brownstone investigating with Wolfe and Archie. On the other hand the mystery here is very thin and I couldn't seem to work up much interest in what was happening. A wealthy reformer working with a private watchdog organization concerned with police ineptitude was shot down on the street outside his residence. Inspector Cramer had not made any progress toward solving the mystery so he was put on administrative leave. The battered badge of the book title is referring to Inspector Cramer.

This was just an okay reading experience for me mainly because almost all that happens is that the same suspects keep being investigated and interviewed by the same people with the results remaining the same. The name of the murderer felt as if it had been drawn out of a hat. The wordplay between Archie and Lon Cohen (of The Gazette newspaper) focused on them making puns and drawing attention to each other's vocabulary. Not very exciting stuff when I found the words they were discussing to be rather commonplace.