description Too Many Cooks Overview
Too Many Cooks is a 1938 detective novel by Rex Stout featuring private investigator Nero Wolfe and his assistant, Archie Goodwin. Wolfe leaves his New York brownstone to attend a gathering of elite chefs at a West Virginia resort, where professional rivalry is followed by murder. The unusual setting places the sedentary detective among culinary specialists while retaining the interviews, deductions, and first-person narration characteristic of the Nero Wolfe series.
insights Ranking position
Too Many Cooks ranks #54 of 183 in the Detective Novel ranking, behind Trunk Music, ahead of A Great Deliverance.
help Too Many Cooks FAQ
Why does Nero Wolfe leave his New York brownstone in Too Many Cooks?
Wolfe travels to a West Virginia resort for a gathering of Les Quinze Maîtres, an elite group of master chefs. The 1938 novel is unusual because Rex Stout removes him from his familiar Manhattan headquarters.
Who is murdered at the chefs' gathering in Too Many Cooks?
The victim is Philip Laszio, a celebrated but widely disliked chef. He is killed during a blind tasting in which the assembled cooks are judging sauces.
Does Archie Goodwin narrate Too Many Cooks?
Yes. Archie narrates the journey, the culinary rivalries and Wolfe's investigation in his characteristic first-person voice.
Why is Too Many Cooks discussed in relation to race?
The investigation depends partly on testimony from Black kitchen workers in 1930s West Virginia. Wolfe challenges the men's distrust of white authorities, although some of the book's language reflects its 1938 publication era.
explore Explore More
Reviews & Comments
Write a Review
Be the first to review
Share your thoughts with the community and help others make better decisions.
