A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of Americas greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of fictions greatest detectives. Here, in Stouts third and fourth complete Wolfe mysteries, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth and his trusty man-about-town, Archie Goodwin, solve two of their most baffling cases. The Rubber Band What do a Wild West lynching and a respected English nobleman have in common? On the surface, absolutely nothing. But when a young woman hires his services, it becomes Nero Wolfes job to look deeper and find the connection. A forty-year-old pact, a five-thousand-mile search, and a million-dollar murder are all linked to an international scandal that could rebound on the great detective and his partner, Archie, with fatal abruptness. The Red BoxMurder by chocolate? Thats the premise Nero Wolfe must operate from when a beautiful woman is poisoned after indulging in a box of candy. Its a case that the great detectiveno stranger himself to overindulgenceis loath to take for a variety of reasons, including that it may require that he leave his comfortable brownstone. But he and Archie are compelled by a mystery that mixes high fashion and low motivesand a killer who may have made the deadliest mistake.