Reading order · 33 books · 1934 to 1975 · Set in New York
Nero Wolfe Books in Order
Nero Wolfe is a vast, brilliant detective who grows orchids, eats magnificently and refuses to leave his New York brownstone if he can help it. His wisecracking assistant Archie Goodwin does the legwork and tells the story. Funny, sharp and endlessly rereadable.
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Series facts
- Books
- 33
- Published
- 1934 to 1975
- First book
- Fer-de-Lance
- Latest
- A Family Affair (1975)
- Setting
- Set in New York
The reading order
Every Nero Wolfe book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
33 books · Set in New York
- 1Fer-de-Lance1934With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA university president collapses and dies on a golf course, and Nero Wolfe suspects a poisoned dart hidden in a golf club.Buy on Amazon
- 2The League of Frightened Men1935With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinThe members of a college club, haunted by a prank that left a classmate disabled years ago, begin to receive threatening poems after two of them die.Buy on Amazon
- 3The Rubber Band1936With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA young woman is accused of theft, and the case reaches back to an old debt from the American West.Buy on Amazon
- 4The Red Box1937With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA model dies after eating poisoned chocolates at a fashion house, and Wolfe is persuaded to leave home to investigate.Buy on Amazon
- 5Too Many Cooks1938With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinWolfe travels to a spa in West Virginia for a gathering of the world’s great chefs, and one of them is murdered.Buy on Amazon
- 6Some Buried Caesar1939With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinWolfe and Archie are stranded in the countryside, where a man is found dead in a field with a prize bull.Buy on Amazon
- 7Over My Dead Body1940With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA young woman from Montenegro, accused of theft at a New York fencing school, asks Wolfe for help, and the case draws him into the politics of his homeland.Buy on Amazon
- 8Where There’s a Will1940With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA wealthy man leaves his fortune not to his family but to his mistress, and his sisters ask Wolfe for help.Buy on Amazon
- 9The Silent Speaker1946With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinThe head of a government agency is murdered just before he is due to give a speech.Buy on Amazon
- 10Too Many Women1947With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinArchie goes undercover at an engineering company with a large staff of women, after an employee is killed.Buy on Amazon
- 11And Be a Villain1948With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA guest on a live radio programme dies after drinking the sponsor’s soft drink, and Wolfe first encounters the criminal mastermind Arnold Zeck.Buy on Amazon
- 12The Second Confession1949With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA wealthy man hires Wolfe to prove that his daughter’s suitor is a communist, and Zeck warns Wolfe off.Buy on Amazon
- 13In the Best Families1950With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinWolfe disappears from his brownstone to take on Arnold Zeck.Buy on Amazon
- 14Murder by the Book1951With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA typist is killed, and the case is linked to a mysterious manuscript.Buy on Amazon
- 15Prisoner’s Base1952With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA young woman asks to stay as a guest in Wolfe’s house.Buy on Amazon
- 16The Golden Spiders1953With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA boy who washes car windscreens sees a woman in trouble, and soon after he is killed.Buy on Amazon
- 17The Black Mountain1954With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinWolfe’s oldest friend is murdered, and Wolfe travels back to Montenegro to find the killer.Buy on Amazon
- 18Before Midnight1955With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA contest run by an advertising agency ends in murder, and the winning answers are missing.Buy on Amazon
- 19Might as Well Be Dead1956With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA businessman asks Wolfe to find the son he disowned, who turns out to be on trial for murder.Buy on Amazon
- 20If Death Ever Slept1957With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinArchie goes undercover as secretary to a wealthy man who fears that his daughter-in-law is a spy in his household.Buy on Amazon
- 21Champagne for One1958With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinArchie attends a charity dinner where a young woman dies after drinking poisoned champagne.Buy on Amazon
- 22Plot It Yourself1959With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA group of publishers and authors hires Wolfe to stop a wave of plagiarism claims, and then the murders begin.Buy on Amazon
- 23Too Many Clients1960With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA man claims to be a murdered executive, and Archie discovers a secret love nest.Buy on Amazon
- 24The Final Deduction1961With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA wealthy woman’s husband is kidnapped, and after the ransom is paid, things go badly wrong.Buy on Amazon
- 25Gambit1962With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA chess player is poisoned during a public exhibition game.Buy on Amazon
- 26The Mother Hunt1963With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA widow finds a baby on her doorstep, and asks Wolfe to find the mother.Buy on Amazon
- 27A Right to Die1964With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinAn old acquaintance asks Wolfe to help his son, during the civil rights era, and a murder follows.Buy on Amazon
- 28The Doorbell Rang1965With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA wealthy woman hires Wolfe to stop the FBI from harassing her, and Wolfe takes on J.Buy on Amazon
- 29Death of a Doxy1966With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinOrrie Cather, one of Wolfe’s operatives, is accused of murdering his mistress.Buy on Amazon
- 30The Father Hunt1968With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA young woman asks Wolfe to find the father she never knew.Buy on Amazon
- 31Death of a Dude1969With Archie GoodwinArchie, visiting Lily Rowan’s ranch in Montana, is drawn into a murder, and Wolfe follows him there.Buy on Amazon
- 32Please Pass the Guilt1973With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA television executive is killed by a bomb in his office.Buy on Amazon
- 33A Family Affair1975With Nero Wolfe and Archie GoodwinA waiter is killed by a bomb in Wolfe’s own house.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Each book stands alone, so start anywhere. Many readers begin with Some Buried Caesar, Too Many Cooks or The Doorbell Rang. And Be a Villain, The Second Confession and In the Best Families form a trilogy and are best read together.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Archie Goodwin | Nero Wolfe | Fritz Brenner | Theodore Horstmann | Saul Panzer | Fred Durkin and Orrie Cather | Lon Cohen | Inspector Cramer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Fer-de-Lance | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 2 The League of Frightened Men | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 3 The Rubber Band | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 4 The Red Box | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 5 Too Many Cooks | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 6 Some Buried Caesar | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 7 Over My Dead Body | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 8 Where There’s a Will | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 9 The Silent Speaker | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 10 Too Many Women | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 11 And Be a Villain | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 12 The Second Confession | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 13 In the Best Families | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 14 Murder by the Book | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 15 Prisoner’s Base | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 16 The Golden Spiders | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 17 The Black Mountain | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 18 Before Midnight | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 19 Might as Well Be Dead | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 20 If Death Ever Slept | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 21 Champagne for One | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 22 Plot It Yourself | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 23 Too Many Clients | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 24 The Final Deduction | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 25 Gambit | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 26 The Mother Hunt | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 27 A Right to Die | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 28 The Doorbell Rang | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 29 Death of a Doxy | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 30 The Father Hunt | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 31 Death of a Dude | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 32 Please Pass the Guilt | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 33 A Family Affair | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
Characters in the Nero Wolfe books
11 characters from Rex Stout’s chart, with the number of Nero Wolfe books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Archie GoodwinWolfe’s assistant, legman and narrator | 33 | Fer-de-Lance 1934 |
| Nero WolfeDetective genius, orchid grower and gourmet | 33 | Fer-de-Lance 1934 |
| Fritz BrennerWolfe’s Swiss chef | 33 | Fer-de-Lance 1934 |
| Theodore HorstmannWolfe’s orchid nurse | 33 | Fer-de-Lance 1934 |
| Saul PanzerFreelance operative and the best in New York | 33 | Fer-de-Lance 1934 |
| Fred Durkin and Orrie CatherFreelance operatives | 33 | Fer-de-Lance 1934 |
| Lon CohenNewspaperman and Archie’s friend | 33 | Fer-de-Lance 1934 |
| Inspector CramerHead of Manhattan Homicide | 30 | Fer-de-Lance 1934 |
| Purley StebbinsCramer’s sergeant | 30 | Fer-de-Lance 1934 |
| Lily RowanHeiress and Archie’s companion | 28 | Some Buried Caesar 1939 |
| Arnold ZeckCriminal mastermind | 3 | And Be a Villain 1948 |