Bantam. Also available as an ebook and from used book sellers
ISBN 978-0553762983
The second Nero Wolfe mystery, and a worthy entry in the
series. Paul Chapin was seriously
injured (resulting in permanent damage to his right leg) in a hazing incident
at Harvard some 20 years earlier. He has
recently become a best-selling author (and he has been charged with writing an
indecent book, based on the sexual content and depiction of violence of his
current novel). And the Harvard
students, now middle-aged men, responsible for his injuries begin to die (two
of them so far)—with cryptic verses sent to those remaining hinting at more
deaths to come. (These men have
maintained their relationship largely as a result of Chapin’s injuries; they
have, over the years, tries to provide him with financial and other
assistance.)
One of those men-Andrew Hibbard, a psychology professor, who
believes Chapin is responsible for the deaths (as do his classmates), tries to
hire Wolfe to prevent Chapin from killing him. Wolfe, of course, turns him
down. Soon thereafter, Hibbard disappears,
and classmates assume that Chapin is responsible. Hibbard’s niece attempts to hire Wolf t find
her uncle or discover his murderer; he rejects her as a client. But he has a plan—to hire the Harvard gang,
with shared prorated (from thousands to only a few dollars, depending on their
current financial conditions).
Wolfe, as usual, leaves the active part of the investigation
to Archie. He investigates by reading
Chapin’s novels (including the current one, which has been banned as obscene—he
tells Archie to approach his usual bookseller, because, after all, what’s the
point of ab obscenity trial if not to encourage sales of the book?).
Archie’s part of the investigation doesn’t lead to much
(although it does turn up some physical evidence); Wolfe’s reading of the
books, however, persuades him that he knows what has happened, is happening,
and is going to happen. Then, one of the
Harvard guys is murdered, no doubt about it.
Chapin was on the scene. His
guilt is assumed by one and all (except Wolfe; I thought there were some
circumstances that made the certainty of Chapin’s guilt somewhat premature).
The ending is well-handled, although Chapin is not pleased
with the outcome.
What is, to me, the most interesting aspect of the book is
how well it reflects Stout’s earlier work as a literary novelist. Between 1929 and 1931, he published 3 novels—How Like a God, Seed on the Wind, and Forest Fire (Forest Fire is my personal choice for worst book ever written).
All three have psychological aspects, including psycho-sexual elements
that would please your basic Freudian.
The psycho-sexual elements in The
League of Frightened Men are quite clear, and while this aspect of the book
most strongly relates to Chapin’s actions and motivations, there are hints
involving some of the others. (his first
Nero Wolfe book, Fer-de-Lance, also
has some Freudian overtones, as do several of his later books). But those elements are basically side issues in
the Wolfe books. Personally, I think his
move away from plots emphasizing psychological aberrations (and that aspect is
most prominent in this book) was a good thing.
