Nero Wolfe "In the Best Families" Quiz

Answer: Dogs

The Rackham family likes dogs, specifically Doberman pinschers. They own a number of them, and have trained the dogs to respond to sophisticated voice commands. Archie is more than a little nervous around the animals, but true to form, he puts on an insouciant air, or tries to, in their presence.

Answer: Two

Two violent deaths occur--one human, one canine. Both are stabbings, and the same weapon is used on each victim. The knife is later found to have come from the kitchen on the premises.

Answer: Mrs. Rackham, the client

Mrs. Rackham is found stabbed to death in a wooded area of her estate, shortly after her dog, Nobby, who was also stabbed, arrives dying at the neighboring home of Calvin Leeds, dog lover and Mrs. Rackham's cousin. Archie is staying at Leeds' home to begin an investigation into Mr. Rackham's activities.

After Nobby dies, the two men set out to find Mrs. Rackham and shortly discover her body.

Answer: Tear gas

Quick action by Archie saves the household from being overcome by the gas, although Archie gets a slight whiff of it and tears up a bit.

Answer: Arnold Zeck, the master criminal

Everyone thinks that Lord Voldemort is "He who must not be named" and while that is true, he wasn't the first. Wolfe forbade Archie to utter the name of Arnold Zeck in an earlier tale, leading to awkwardness on the infrequent occasions when Zeck comes into their world, however tangentially. Usually Archie relies on something like "Whosis" to identify Zeck, but Wolfe often requires a second clue to understand to whom Archie is referring.

Zeck's appearance in their case raises the stakes for Wolfe and Archie. They have to date been able to work around Zeck without having to confront him directly. This time, it looks like they may not be so lucky.

Answer: Wolfe has left home.

Wolfe has left home, and as the story unfolds it becomes clear that he has REALLY left home. He leaves instructions for moving his orchids to the greenhouse of a fellow grower, sends his chef to work for his friend Marko Vukcic at Marko's restaurant, and nothing more is heard from him for months. Archie has no idea where Wolfe is, although everyone assumes otherwise and Archie takes a lot of grief for not divulging Wolfe's whereabouts.

Answer: Opens his own detective agency

With Wolfe absent, incommunicado, and with no way to know if he'll ever return, Archie strikes out on his own. He rents an office and accepts various detecting jobs. Within three months he is making substantially more than Wolfe paid him, and he decides it's time for a vacation. He and a friend make plans to visit Norway.

Answer: Pete Roeder from California

Roeder claims to be from California. When he first appears in the story, he has already been hired in Arnold Zeck's operations and is highly placed, with direct access to Zeck.

Answer: He makes out with Archie's girlfriend.

Wolfe, who as Pete Roeder has a driver employed by Arnold Zeck, needs a way to meet privately with Archie to develop a plan to take down Zeck, but the driver cannot know that Roeder and Archie are meeting. The two detectives enlist the assistance of Lily Rowan, Archie's longest-running lady friend, to get amorous with Wolfe in the back seat of the car, and to subsequently invite Wolfe up to her penthouse for an evening of passion. Once there, Archie joins them, Lily retires to her room, and Wolfe and Archie formulate their strategy.

Answer: He loses more than one hundred pounds

As Pete Roeder, Wolfe is unrecognizable. He spends close to an hour talking in person with Archie, and Archie doesn't realize it's Wolfe. He later tells Archie is has lost 117 pounds. This explains his extended absence - it takes time to shed that many pounds!

Incidentally, after Wolfe returns home, he gains no less than ten pounds in the first three days, fueled by Fritz' cooking.