Fer-de-Lance Audiobook By Rex Stout cover art

Fer-de-Lance

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Fer-de-Lance

By: Rex Stout
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

When someone makes a present of a fer-de-lance - the dreaded snake - to Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin knows he's close to solving two apparently unrelated murders.

As for Wolfe, he's playing snake charmer in a case more deadly than a cobra and whistling a seductive tune he hopes will catch a killer with poison in his heart.

Stout fellow: listen to all of our Nero Wolfe mysteries, including classic radio programs!©1934 Rex Stout (P)1994 Books on Tape Inc. Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Heartfelt

Critic reviews

"Fer-de-Lance is the first mystery novel ever written by Rex Stout....[it] will be welcomed by the legions of Rex Stout fans and serve as a welcome introduction to a whole new generation of mystery buffs." (Midwest Book Review)

"A 1934 period mystery that is remarkably fresh." (The Roanoke Times)
Intriguing Mystery • Witty Dialogue • Perfect Character Voices • Clever Plot • Elegant Writing • Wonderful Pacing
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Great story. Great narration. Societal roles are dated, but the story is nearly 100 years old.

The First Nero Wolfe Story and Arguable the Best

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have read and listened to this first work in the Nero Wolfe mysteries and I never tire of it. To be sure there are a few sentences that speak to the age of the work and definitely not PC but for me, I can overlook because of the writing, pacing and plot. Rex Stout, like his creations Wolfe and Goodwin - - - priceless.

The genius starts here!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This first Nero Wolf novel is worth a read because this is where the series started. However, the tropes are not yet completely set. Nero and Archie are great but not yet the more fully developed personalities we know from some of the later books. Still, if you're a Nero Wolf fan you really can't live without it.

The first Nero Wolf novel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great Story, Love the Nero Wolfe Series

Could have edited the old cassette instructions out .

Great Story, Love the Nero Wolfe Series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved the story but there was constant skipping throughout.. like a record would skip

Skips throughout

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
For a book recorded so recently it has static and deleted words throughout. Despite this it is well performed and a good story.

poor technical

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
good read, good pace. enjoyed the character development. will definitely read another Nero Wolfe novel.

good read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was written before tv; however it is like a television pilot. It is close to other books in the series but isn’t fully developed. Tropes which become standard in future books aren’t developed here. Additionally the book is somewhat like a snapshot of the time in which it was written. It demonstrates the values of its age which are occasionally jarring to modern sensibilities. However, despite that it’s definitely worth a read. It’s not my favorite in the series but if you have listened to all of them it’s definitely worth a listen. Additionally, Michael Pritchard is the perfect reader for this series. He makes the words live. His performance alone is worth the price of the books in this series.

This is the first book in the series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have decided to start back through this fantastic series, with Prichard's great reads. This first Nero Wilfe novel has a somewhat different feel, as Stout had not established as thoroughly his feel for Nero.

A very interesting mystery, showing off Wolfe's almost psychic abilities to smell out something that no one else notices. Some good characters. Pacing felt a bit off, especially at the end, but not enough to detract from a fine story.

Good start for Nero Wolfe

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I admit I'm on a Nero Wolfe bender--I've listened to 12 or 15 of them now and my excuse is the symbiotic relationship between Stout's text and dialogue and Prichard's reading. The pitch and pace are dead right and the vision of an earlier New York City (I gravitate to the earlier work) is wonderful. I might not have read all these books but LISTENING has hooked me!

Michael Prichard rocks these books!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews