When Nero Wolfe is asked to see a New York theater director at the behest of a fellow orchid lover, Lewis Hewitt, Wolfe's first response is No. But then through Archie, his right-hand man, he is told to tell Wolfe these two words: Grammangis spectabilis. With those two words, Wolfe has a new case on his hands, and Archie has a new assignment.

To wit: Roy Breckenridge, the theater director in question, feels his life is being threatened, and all because of contention among his cast. He asks Wolfe to investigate and find out which one of the cast members is causing the strife among them all; and to this end, it is decided that Archie will pose as a Canadian magazine writer who is interested in the play and its cast, for his publication. But unfortunately for everyone involved, his charade does not go according to plan. While posing undercover, someone murders Breckenridge while Archie is at the theater, not only ending his assignment, but effectively removing him from the case. Therefore, Wolfe has only one option left: Saul Panzer, whom he is sure can get to the crux of the matter and, by bringing the principals before Wolfe to interrogate, discover who the guilty party is.

With the cooperation of Mr. Hewitt, and a little help from newsman Lon Cohen, Wolfe sets to work not only to discover Mr. Breckenridge's murderer, but to do so in order to obtain what his heart desires: rare Madagascar orchids that are now in Mr. Hewitt's possession but Wolfe wishes to be his. What follows is another masterful mystery involving the brilliant mind of Nero Wolfe, and the sharp wit of Archie Goodwin.

I cannot put into words how much I enjoy these mysteries, first started by the late Rex Stout and carried on beautifully by Robert Goldsborough; whose own voice speaks to us just the same. He has given us another thought-provoking mystery - this time involving the New York theater and the personal egos of its members - and done so in such a lively way that it is indeed easy to get involved in the story quickly and stay there through the end. In fact, one becomes so involved that in trying to decipher Mr. Wolfe's nuances you are never quite able to do so; and when he solves the crime (as we know he will) you are as surprised as anyone else.

This, my friends, is what a true mystery is about, and how it indeed should always be. Nero Wolfe is one of a kind, a man with a brilliant mind who knows it to be true; who is haughty and unconcerned about the wants of others, but who values Archie and his staff, even if he does not show it. He appreciates beauty and true friendship, all the while keeping himself aloof and unemotional He is able to solve whatever crime is put before him effortlessly, and it is a pleasure to watch him do so. This is a sparkling mystery full of intrigue and secrets, and I eagerly await the next in the series. Highly recommended.

Robert Goldsborough continues the Rex Stout Nero Wolfe tradition with Murder, Stage Left. The producer of a Broadway play comes to Nero Wolfe with a foreboding about his production; as Archie starts to investigate the producer is murdered. Whodunit.

Quickly paced and snappy; I always find Mr. Goldsborough to be one of the most successful in that class of writers who continue a series when the original author passes away. He consistently picks up Rex Stout's voice with ease and, in this entry, provides a mystery that uses the Archie and Nero to their utmost. While setting a murder among the cast of a play is such a Golden Age trope that contemporary use can skate along the edge of parody, this mystery uses the stock characters of this flavor of mystery (the grand dame, the ingenue, the old timers) in an amusing way if not really setting the world on fire, if you get my meaning. A good afternoon's read.

Book Review Murder Stage Left A Nero Wolfe Mystery by Robert Goldsborough
Review by Dawn Thomas

246 Pages
Publisher: Open Road Media
Mystery & Thriller, Private Investigators

The mystery begins with a telephone call from Lewis Hewitt, a longtime acquaintance of Nero Wolfe. His friend, Roy Breckenridge, a Broadway producer has a bad feeling of his current production and asks Nero Wolfe to investigate. Wolfe agrees to meet with Mr. Breckenridge and listens to his concerns before taking the case.

Archie goes undercover as a Canadian magazine writer and interviews the cast and stage manager. Just when Archie is convinced the producer is wrong, he is found dead back stage. Things start spiraling out of control for Archie. Someone has given his description to the police, all of whom recognize it as Archie. Wolfe has Saul Panzer step in Archie’s role as assistant while Archie keeps out of sight. Nero conducts interviews of the cast but then Max Ennis, a cast member, is poisoned in the same manner. The difference with this is a suicide note. With all fingers pointing to Max for the murder of Roy Breckenridge, Nero and Archie have to find the real murderer before he/she gets away.

This is the first Nero Wolfe book I have read by this author. I enjoyed the clipped dialogue and thought it was close to watching an episode. It was a quick read and I was finished in a couple of days. I would have liked to see Wolfe more abrupt with the suspects as in the Rex Stout books.

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media. Thank you.

Robert Goldsborough has continued the Nero Wolfe series begun by Rex Stout with mixed success from my perspective. This was an okay read, but it certainly wasn't as well done as some of the Goldsborough offerings. This one just didn't have enough substance to it, not enough mystery to require a full novel.

The producer and director of a play currently running on Broadway in New York comes to the old brownstone to say he has a feeling something isn't quite right within the cast and crew of his show. This producer comes up with the plan of having Archie come to the theatre to secretly interview the cast and some of the crew using the guise of a reporter from a magazine in Toronto, Canada. Archie goes, he interviews, gets nothing of any note and reports back to Wolfe after finding a dead body. When a suicide takes place each actor and the stage manager are invited to visit Wolfe to be interviewed. So, essentially all this book does is have the same people being interviewed twice. Wolfe does one of his 'lips moving in and out' tricks, everybody is summoned to the brownstone again.....culprit revealed.

Frankly, the story just seemed to go a long way around to end up not doing much. It definitely needed some punching up with some kind of action - of the action kind - in order to make it interesting. I've read all of the Goldsborough books in this continuation of an original series and liked some more than others. This one was okay, but I could have missed it an not felt deprived.

Another solid entry in Robert Goldsborough's Nero Wolfe Mystery series. This time Archie is tasked with posing as a reporter for a fictional Canadian arts magazine in order ferret out some unidentified trouble in the cast of a broadway drama. But before Archie can find the source of tension, murder strikes. Archie, Nero Wolfe and Saul Panzer work together to get to the bottom of this mystery with little help or thanks from police detective Cramer. One by one the remaining cast members come to the brownstone for an interview with Mr. Wolfe. Fans of Nero Wolfe will find everything they love in this tribute to Rex Stout's beloved series. If you have not read any previous Nero Wolfe books, whether by Stout or by Goldsborough, you can still pick this one up and find it an enjoyable read. But if you are already acquainted with Wolfe and the other characters and their quirks, you will find even more to love in Murder Stage Left.

I was saddened when Rex Stout passed away. I had read all of his books and related books about him and the genre. I even had a collection of all of his Nero Wolfe books and watched the various screen adaptations. I thought there would never be another book about Nero and Archie. Then I found Robert Goldsborough. With trepidation I began his first book, then his second and realized I could now look forward to more stories about my favorite detectives. Murder, Stage Left is another in Robert's fine line of books. The plot, while not terribly thrilling, moves along in the way I am used to Nero detecting. There was plenty of action from Archie and all of my favorite characters made an appearance, including the orchids. Often, when reading mysteries, I guess the criminal about halfway through. This time I was totally surprised. Once I read the logic behind the case, I could see where I had failed to pick up a tiny clue. Robert's books are well written, often using one or two words per book that I actually have to look up in the dictionary (in this case cavil). After reading this episode in the investigatory process of Nero and Archie, I plan to return to Robert's previous books and read through them again to be ready for his next adventure. A joy to read, and an event to be anticipated.

"Murder, Stage Left" is the latest continuation of the Nero Wolfe series by author Robert Goldsborough who writes these with the permission of the estate of the author of the many original novels. Decades after beginning these works, Goldsbororough is still producing wonderful adventures for Wolfe, his associate Archie Goodwin and the rest of those who live in this seemingly 1970's period of New York City.
The current offering has, besides the usual cast of regulars, a just as satisfyingly usual mystery. A producer hires Wolfe to look into what is happening backstage at his newest Broadway Production. The show is going exceedingly well on all levels, but he feels that there is something awry.
Archie, Wolfe's secretary, goes undercover as a reporter for a Canadian Theater magazine in order to get to know the cast and back stage crew better. Following his few days with the cast there is a murder of one of the book's characters and the plot continues from there.
Though I cannot say more, without giving away the solution to the mystery, I will state that the mystery itself is a good one, and the characters, especially the ones created for this plot line, are delightful to follow. Goldsborough does it again, and I highly recommend "Murder, Stage Left" to any mystery lover, and especially those who follow the adventures of Nero Wolfe!