The twentieth Nero Wolfe novel by Rex Stout, published in 1957.
Millionaire Otis Jarrell suspects that his daughter-in-law Susan has been leaking confidential business information, and hires Wolfe to get the "snake" out of his house. Jarrell has just fired his secretary James L. Eber, believing him the source of the leak, allowing Archie to go undercover as his replacement, "Alan Green." Not long after Archie joins the Jarrell household, a .38 revolver is stolen and used to shoot Eber dead; as the thief used a rug to foil a security camera, which must have been known about, the circle of suspects is restricted to the Jarrells and those living in the penthouse. Days after a meeting of the suspects in Wolfe's office, with Archie still in his role as Alan Green and Orrie Cather posing as Archie, Jarrell's business rival Corey Brigham is also shot and killed. With no leads and the revolver still missing, Wolfe collects statements from the Jarrell household, then sends his operatives on everyone's trail. While many of the operatives find exactly what Wolfe expects - nothing - one finds the evidence to uncover the true snake in the grass.
Tropes in this work: (Tropes relating to the series as a whole, or to the characters in general can be found on Nero Wolfe and its subpages.)
- Clueless Mystery: Having no leads as to the murderer's identity, Wolfe sends each of his operatives on the trail of a different suspect, telling them to search for any place they might have hidden the gun. Dol Bonner ends up with the point, finding the revolver in Susan's locker at a hair salon.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Corey Brigham is bribing his rival's daughter-in-law for inside information. It's also speculated that she killed Brigham because he tried to blackmail her for his money back or sexual favors, although he could have also had an Even Evil Has Standards moment and intended to turn her in for murdering James Eber.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: After the denouement, Wolfe certainly thinks this towards Otis Jarrell's claim about Susan:"No, sir." Wolfe was curt. "I do not know you were right. She is a murderess, a hellcat, and a wretch, but you have furnished no evidence that she is a snake. I still do not believe you. I will be glad to get the check."
