This isn't a novel but rather a pair of novellas. In the first story, Black Orchids, Archie is sent by the sedentary Wolfe to the Manhattan Flower Show to spy on an exhibition of extremely rare black orchids. Wolfe is miffed because the breeder refused to sell one to Wolfe. Along the way Archie falls in love with a pretty girl inhabiting one of the diorama-like scenes set up by a nursery, which leads him to be on the spot when a murder occurs. Wolfe manages to solve the murder and snag a black orchid plant all in one afternoon, which is pretty good.

The second novella, Cordially Invited to Meet Death finds Wolfe and Archie trying to solve the murder of a fancy party planner, who is deliberately dosed with tetanus. She had originally consulted Wolfe about some anonymous letters that were sent to some of her clients, so Wolfe is motivated to find her killer since he wasn't able to prevent her murder. The black orchids show up on the coffin at the funeral, which is framed by Archie as a mystery — why did Wolfe send one of his precious on someone he barely knew? That mystery isn't solved, but since I couldn't see the point of it other than to provide a tenuous thread between the two novellas, I'm not bothered by the dangling plot point.

This isn't one of my favorites, but it's fine. I probably wouldn't have re-read it without prompting but I'm not sorry to have done so. ( )

This is a twofer as it includes the title novella as well as a second novella, Cordially Invited to Meet Death. Black orchids form the connection between the two novellas. In the first story, Nero Wolfe sends Archie to visit a flower show on successive days. On the final day, Wolfe himself is present when Archie discovers a murdered man in one of the displays. In the second story, a party planner consults Wolfe regarding a series of poison pen letters. It soon turns into a murder investigation. While Archie does the leg work, Wolfe and Fritz receive instruction on the proper way to make corned beef hash…from a woman! The novella format works well for this series with Archie Goodwin as its narrator. Archie is quick-witted and quick-tongued, and the novella length seems like a natural fit. ( )

Another great Wolfe mystery ( )

No es mucho lo que puede hacer que Wolfe deje su cómoda casa de piedra rojiza, pero la exhibición de una rara orquídea negra lo atrae a una exhibición de flores. Desafortunadamente, el evento tan esperado pronto se ve ensombrecido por un asesinato tan atrevido como repentino. Se trata de eliminar a un asesino astuto que puede aparecer en cualquier lugar, y Wolfe debe hacerlo rápidamente. Porque un segundo caso espera su atención urgente: una viuda de sociedad en una lista de correo de cartas envenenadas que conducen a un complot tan oscuro como cualquier orquídea que Wolfe haya encontrado.

4/9/22