Rex Stout

Rex Stout wrote several standalone detective stories, dozens of short stories, and, of course, the Nero Wolfe novels. Stout’s greatest creation, Nero Wolfe is the ultimate armchair detective—a fat, grumpy, agoraphobic, orchid-loving gourmand who almost never leaves his Manhattan brownstone.

Stout was born in 1886 to Quaker parents. He was a highly gifted student, and grew up to dabble in various odd jobs before devising a school banking system that earned him enough income to commit to writing as a full-time career. Stout moved to Paris, wrote three “serious” novels, and turned to detective fiction. Over the course of his career he wrote 33 full-length Wolfe novels.

Note: Some people have floated around the theory that Wolfe was meant to be Sherlock Holmes's illegitimate child with Irene Adler.

Aftertaste:
Wolfe’s (not Stout's--we don't know anything about Stout's) attitude toward women can get a little tiresome.

Availability:
Everywhere.

Other Recommendations:
Anything by Josephine Tey

Anything by Laurie R. King

The mysteries of the Baroness Orczy