Death Times Three

All three of these stories were previously published in different forms, one of which wasn't even a Wolfe story. В Nonetheless, they're all good: "Assault on a Brownstone" - Rewrite of "Counterfeit for Murder" from [i]Homicide Trinity[/i]. Hattie Annis, who operates a rooming house in New York City, found some counterfeit money and wants a reward, but the case quickly turns into a murder investigation. "Frame-Up for Murder" - Expanded rewrite of "Murder Is No Joke" from [i]And Four To Go[/i]. Flora Gallant, the sister of famous dress designer Alec Gallant, hires Wolfe and Archie to break Bianca Voss' mysterious hold over her brother. While questioning an interested party via telephone, Wolfe and Archie hear a murder - or do they? Was it genuine, or was the killer playing games to mess up the time of death? "Bitter End" - 11-12 July, 1939. Take the plot and cast of Stout's Tecumseh Fox novel [i]Bad for Business[/i], replace Fox with Archie and Wolfe, and cut it down to a short story. The entry into the story is different, of course, since Amy Duncan isn't the focus; Wolfe is served with some of the quinine-tainted Tingley's products and takes it as an insult. Murder strikes thrice in these three baffling mysteries of crime and detection. First, Rex Stout’s great detective, Nero Wolfe, develops an appetite for the sweet taste of revenge when someone slips something most foul into his lunch—in a case motivated by the most “alimentary” of passions. Then, a couturier’s beautiful sister uses Archie Goodwin, Wolfe’s man about town, as her ready-made alibi—and maybe her fall guy—unless Wolfe can spot the loose ends in a nearly seamless crime. Finally, Wolfe has a run-in with the law after a mysterious old woman leaves a package at the detective’s West Thirty-fifth Street brownstone that pits him against a cunning criminal—and the U.S. federal government.