History Literature / NeroWolfe

** Dave Zeltserman Julius Katz, a BrilliantButLazy wine connoisseur who solves crimes with the aid of Archie, an artificial intelligence installed in a tie-pin.
** Lobo Black, a Western [[TheSheriff lawman]] who is paralyzed by an assassins bullet but is still capable of solving crimes from information gathered by his new legman Quinn Booker.

* ''Nero Wolfe'' (2001-2005 Russian series) starring Donatas Banionis as Wolfe, and Sergei Zhigunov as Archie

* ''Meet Nero Wolfe'' (1936, adapted from “Fer-de-lance”) starring Edward Arnold as Wolfe, and Lionel Stander as Archie

* ''Zu viele Köche'' (1961 German miniseries, adapted from “Too Many Cooks”) starring Heinz Klevenow as Wolfe, and Joachim Fuchsberger as Archie

* ''Nero Wolfe'' (1979 ABC TV movie, adapted from ”The Doorbell Rang”) starring Thayer David as Wolfe, and Tom Mason as Archie

* ''The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe'' (1982, CBC) starring Mavor Moore as Wolfe, and Creator/DonFrancks as Archie

* ''Zu viele Köche'' (1961 German miniseries, adapted from “Too Many Cooks”) starring Heinz Klevenow as Wolfe, and Joachim Fuchsberger as Archie

** Zigzagged in ''[[spoiler:Champagne For One]],'' and ''[[spoiler:Plot It Yourself]]'', both books where the blackmail does cause at least one murder, but not that of the blackmailer, with said blackmailers instead coming to the attention of the police at the end.

** Implied in ''The Rubber Band'', where the Marquis of Clivers is so influential as a representative of the British government that the authorities really, ''really'' don't want to have to have a reason to arrest him for murder, since that's going to cause everyone a lot of misery. [[spoiler: Fortunately for them, in this case the Marquis didn't actually do it.]]

* DefeatMeansFriendship: In "A Window for Death", hot-headed man's-man uranium miner Johnny Arrow is notably friendly and respectful to Archie after Archie bests him while breaking up a physical altercation in Wolfe's office. He frequently comments that Archie "gave [him] quite a squeeze" and before the story's end, the two are swapping good-natured quips about the attractive nurse that both are interested in and Archie is advising Johnny where the good places to get men's clothes in New York are.

* AnyoneCanDie: Well, anyone in the supporting cast at least. One recurring investigator is abruptly offed in the middle of an otherwise unremarkable case, and another dies in the final book. Clients die with frightening frequency, as do witnesses and suspects.

* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: In "[[spoiler: Black Orchids]]". the victim is tricked into uintentionally killing himself with poison gas through a BatmanGambit Wolfe set up. In "[[spoiler:Before I Die]]," it initially looks like this was played straight but Archie says that Saul fired the killing shot. Played straight in ''[[spoiler:In the Best Families]].''
* BastardBastard: The killer in ''[[spoiler:The Father Hunt]]'' and the blackmailer in "[[spoiler:Bitter End]]."

* BuxomIsBetter: Occasionally evoked by Archie, such as describing a suspect named Martha Kirk as “ornamental both above the neck and below.”

* WritingAboutYourCrime: In the early story "The League of Frightened Men", Nero Wolfe's interest in the matter begins when Archie, reading news items at random to annoy Wolfe, mentions an author defending one of his books from obscenity charges (which the publisher placed on hold until the're resolved). The writer's defense was that he had committed a murder and written the book as his confession with any obscenity incidental (which got him a contempt of court charge when he insisted the judge had no right to dismiss this as a joke). Wolfe mentions to Archie that during the latter's recent and extended absence he had met with and turned down a potential client who felt his associates were being murdered and his own life was in danger from a man he refused to name. Wolfe notes that the man he met had repeatedly used phrases from this author's last known work, and in fact had almost accidentally spoken the author's first name at one point, concluding the coincidence is worth following up on. Before doing so, Wolfe then receives a phone call from the daughter of the now-missing man...

* DeconstructedTrope: The series can be seen as applying this concept to many of the tropes of classic detective fiction. For example, the "brilliant detective who lives a fairly luxurious lifestyle despite having no apparent income" archetype is here explained by the fact that when he ''does'' solve mysteries, he charges ridiculously high fees for doing so -- which in turn gives him a mercenary reputation and occasional money troubles. The brilliant AmateurSleuth who's always showing up the [[PoliceAreUseless bumbling]] {{Inspector Lestrade}}s with his razor-sharp deductive skills is consequently resented by pretty much everyone with a badge for it. For that matter, the police themselves actually ''aren't'' that bumbling, and even the GreatDetective has to admit that they have certain advantages over him (such as a massive army of investigators and forensic specialists who can chase down leads and clues). TheWatson hangs around and helps out partly out of respect and admiration, but mostly because he's actually the GreatDetective's employee and go-getter. The ConvictionByContradiction-style clues that other detectives use to prove guilt are instead raised as a hypothesis to give the police a potential evidence trail to follow. And so forth.

** Wolfe eats ''good'' food in sizable portions. If the food is mediocre, bad, or not made to his expectations, he'll either pick at it or refuse it altogether. While he is a gourmet ,he will never disparage good food simply because it comes from a "low" source. In one book he is shown to be very fond of a particular diner's chili, and when forced to hide out in Saul Panzer's apartment he compliments him on his choice of cheese at the rather humble table Saul provides. He also very definitely avoids the "speed eater" aspect that often accompanies Big Eaters; he is adamant that no meal should be rushed, no matter how simple it is, to the point that Archie eats separately in the kitchen if he has a task or appointment that would cause him to rush a meal.

* CourtroomAntics: Played with in "The Next Witness"; on a rare occasion that Wolfe can't wriggle out of testifying at a murder trial to which he is tangentially connected, when sitting in the courtroom waiting to be called to the stand Wolfe realises from the testimony of another witness that there's a frame-up afoot, and is so disgusted by a nearby woman's perfume that he storms out of court to find the real culprit. This means that the trial is thrown into chaos and that there's a warrant put out for his arrest for contempt of court, essentially meaning that he causes courtroom antics when he's not even there. [[spoiler: And then, when he's figured out who actually did it, he plays some fancy legal footwork with the defendant in order to goad the prosecutor into asking a question which will enable him to reveal the truth on the stand, thus forcing the judge to dismiss the contempt charge because there's no longer a basis for it.]]

** A lesser example is the red leather chair near Wolfe's desk. It's generally reserved for Inspector Cramer, a current/prospective client, or the person that Wolfe and Archie are most interested in questioning at the moment. On a few occasions, two or more of these have shown up at once, leading to a minor dispute over who sits where. Cramer tends to win by pulling rank if he's present; it's implied he likes that chair but would sooner die than admit it openly.

* CourtroomAntics: Played with in "The Next Witness"; on a rare occasion that Wolfe can't wriggle out of testifying at a murder trial to which he is tangentially connected, when sitting in the courtroom waiting to be called to the stand Wolfe realises from the testimony of another witness that there's a frame-up afoot, and is so disgusted by a nearby woman's perfume that he storms out of court to find the real culprit. This means that the trial is thrown into chaos and that there's a warrant put out for his arrest for contempt of court, essentially meaning that he causes courtroom antics when he's not even there. [[spoiler: And then, when he's figured out who actually did it, he plays some fancy footwork with the defendant in order to goad the prosecutor into asking a question which will enable him to reveal the truth on the stand, thus forcing the judge to dismiss the contempt charge because there's no longer a basis for it.]]

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: A literal InUniverse invocation: Wolfe dislikes the use of "contact" as a verb, and (as mentioned above) once burned a dictionary because it claimed that "imply" and "infer" were synonyms.

* EvilVirtues: In "Death of a Demon," despite being an extremely sadistic blackmailer, Barry Hazen did instruct his wife to burn his clients' papers after he died rather than expose them. Although considering some of those papers had evidence about [[spoiler:the murder of his wife's father]], maybe that was just another bit off cruelty.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Often, although ''Literature/TheLeagueOfFrightenedMen'' stands out.

* BuxomIsBetter: Occasionally evoked by Archie, such as describing a suspect named Martha Kent as “ornamental both above the neck and below.”

* LastNameBasis: The number of people who regularly call Wolfe by his first name to his face can be counted on one hand. Let's see, there, Marko Vukčić, and... that's it. In ''In The Best Families'', Wolfe states that Marko is the only person in New York City who calls him by his first name. His preferred contact in Europe, Ethelbert (later Gregory) Hitchcock, ''may'', (the readers never hear Hitchcock's side of any conversation) but Wolfe refers to him always as "Mr. Hitchcock" or by his full name.

** A lesser example is the red leather chair near Wolfe's desk. It's generally reserved for Inspector Cramer, a current/prospective client, or the person that Wolfe and Archie are most interested in questioning at the moment. On a few occasions, two or more of these have shown up at once, leading to a minor dispute over who sits where.

* CoolHouse: The double brownstone isn't quite a BigFancyHouse, but is so lovingly detailed it's become iconic in crime fiction anyway. Given the vast bookshelves, the elevator, the professional-grade kitchen, the hi-tech-for-the-time phone and alarm systems, the ''orchid rooms'' on the roof, the kitchen garden, the painting and its peephole in the office, and the one-way glass in the front door... it's pretty damn cool.

* CourtroomAntics: Played with in "The Next Witness"; on a rare occasion that Wolfe can't wriggle out of testifying at a murder trial to which he is tangentially connected, when sitting in the courtroom waiting to be called to the stand Wolfe realises from the testimony of another witness that there's a frame-up afoot, and is so disgusted by a nearby woman's perfume that he storms out of court to find the real culprit. This means that the trial is thrown into chaos and that there's a warrant put out for his arrest for contempt of court, essentially meaning that he causes courtroom antics when he's not even there. [[spoiler: And then, when he's figured out who actually did it, he plays some fancy footwork with the defendant in order to goad the prosecutor into asking a question which will enable him to reveal the truth on the stand, thus voiding the contempt charge by making it redundant.]]

** In the first book, operative Orrie Cather is described as a crusty old tobacco-chewing veteran. By his next appearance -- and throughout the rest of the series -- he's become a handsome young smooth-talking ladies' man.

* SocietyMarchesOn: Wolfe's weight can fall here. Especially in earlier novels, Archie often notes that visitors unfamiliar with Wolfe often regard his size in disbelieving and awestruck terms. While this would make sense in a society suffering from the deprivations of the Great Depression, from the perspective of a twenty-first century reader living in an age where chronic obesity is so common as to be considered an epidemic it can seem a little quaint. While even today he wouldn't exactly be considered thin, Wolfe's "seventh of a ton" is less impressive compared to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heaviest_people some]], and a man on the tall side (say, above six foot) at that weight will be noticeably heavy, but not extremely so, if not [[TheBigGuy something else altogether]].

* RealityEnsues: The series can be seen as applying this concept to many of the tropes of classic detective fiction. For example, the "brilliant detective who lives a fairly luxurious lifestyle despite having no apparent income" archetype is here explained by the fact that when he ''does'' solve mysteries, he charges ridiculously high fees for doing so -- which in turn gives him a mercenary reputation and occasional money troubles. The brilliant AmateurSleuth who's always showing up the [[PoliceAreUseless bumbling]] {{Inspector Lestrade}}s with his razor-sharp deductive skills is consequently resented by pretty much everyone with a badge for it. For that matter, the police themselves actually ''aren't'' that bumbling, and even the GreatDetective has to admit that they have certain advantages over him (such as a massive army of investigators and forensic specialists who can chase down leads and clues). TheWatson hangs around and helps out partly out of respect and admiration, but mostly because he's actually the GreatDetective's employee and go-getter. The ConvictionByContradiction-style clues that other detectives use to prove guilt are instead raised as a hypothesis to give the police a potential evidence trail to follow. And so forth.

* SocietyMarchesOn: Wolfe's weight can fall here. Especially in earlier novels, Archie often notes that visitors unfamiliar with Wolfe often regard his size in disbelieving and awestruck terms. While this would make sense in a society suffering from the deprivations of the Great Depression, from the perspective of a twenty-first century reader living in an age where chronic obesity is so common as to be considered an epidemic it can seem a little quaint. While even today he wouldn't exactly be considered thin, Wolfe's "seventh of a ton" is less impressive compared to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heaviest_people some]].