The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 33 books · 1934 to 1975 · Set in New York

Rex Stout

Crime and mysteryPrivate eyeGolden Age

Nero Wolfe, a vast orchid-growing genius, never leaves his New York brownstone if he can help it; his wisecracking assistant Archie Goodwin does the legwork and tells the story. Inspector Cramer, chef Fritz and the freelance operatives Saul, Fred and Orrie recur throughout.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. The novella collections are left out; the 33 full-length novels are charted.

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Who appears in which book

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Rex Stout books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Nero Wolfe

33 books · Set in New YorkGolden AgePrivate eye
  1. 1Fer-de-Lance1934With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The League of Frightened Men1935With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Rubber Band1936With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Red Box1937With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Too Many Cooks1938With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Some Buried Caesar1939With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Over My Dead Body1940With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Where There’s a Will1940With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  9. 9The Silent Speaker1946With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  10. 10Too Many Women1947With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  11. 11And Be a Villain1948With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  12. 12The Second Confession1949With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  13. 13In the Best Families1950With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  14. 14Murder by the Book1951With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  15. 15Prisoner’s Base1952With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  16. 16The Golden Spiders1953With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  17. 17The Black Mountain1954With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  18. 18Before Midnight1955With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  19. 19Might as Well Be Dead1956With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  20. 20If Death Ever Slept1957With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  21. 21Champagne for One1958With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  22. 22Plot It Yourself1959With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  23. 23Too Many Clients1960With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  24. 24The Final Deduction1961With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  25. 25Gambit1962With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  26. 26The Mother Hunt1963With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  27. 27A Right to Die1964With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  28. 28The Doorbell Rang1965With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  29. 29Death of a Doxy1966With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  30. 30The Father Hunt1968With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  31. 31Death of a Dude1969With Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  32. 32Please Pass the Guilt1973With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon
  33. 33A Family Affair1975With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinBuy on Amazon

Characters

11 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

The brownstone on West 35th Street