In the Best Families
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| Author | Rex Stout |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Bill English |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Nero Wolfe |
| Genre | Detective fiction |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
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Publication date
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September 29, 1950 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 246 pp. (first edition) |
| OCLC | 1387038 |
| Preceded by | Three Doors to Death |
| Followed by | Curtains for Three |
In the Best Families (British title Even in the Best Families) is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1950. The story was collected in the omnibus volumes Five of a Kind (Viking 1961) and Triple Zeck (Viking 1974).
This is the third of three Nero Wolfe books that involve crime boss Arnold Zeck and his widespread operations (the others are And Be a Villain and The Second Confession). In each book, Zeck – Wolfe's Moriarty – attempts to warn Wolfe off an investigation that Zeck believes will interfere with his criminal machinations. Each time, Wolfe refuses to cooperate, and there are consequences.
AG:
A wealthy wife hires Nero Wolfe to learn the source of her husband's mysterious income. In short order, Arnold Zeck horns in, the wife is murdered, and Wolfe disappears.
Nero Wolfe is approached by heiress Sarah Rackham and her cousin Calvin Leeds, a breeder of Dobermans, to investigate Sarah's husband Barry, who maintains an unusually lavish lifestyle despite having no income or support from Sarah. After Wolfe reluctantly accepts the job, the next day a tear-gas bomb disguised as a package of sausage is delivered to the brownstone. Afterwards, Wolfe is warned to drop the case by Arnold Zeck, a shadowy criminal mastermind who has matched wits with Wolfe twice before. Although it is clear that Barry Rackham is one of Zeck’s operatives, Wolfe orders Archie to investigate further.
Soon after Archie arrives, Sarah Rackham is found murdered along with her dog. Archie calls Wolfe with the news and returns to the city, suspecting that Barry or someone else in Zeck's enterprise may be responsible. When he arrives, however, he discovers that Nero Wolfe has disappeared during the night, leaving only instructions that Archie should not look for him and a newspaper advertisement announcing Wolfe’s retirement from the detective business. The Westchester authorities refuse to believe that Archie doesn’t know where Wolfe is, and he is briefly detained as a material witness. While Archie is in jail his cell-mate, Max Christy, implies that he is part of Zeck’s organisation and offers Archie work.
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