If Death Ever Slept
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| If Death Ever Slept | |
 |
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| Author | Rex Stout |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Bill English |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Nero Wolfe |
| Genre(s) | Detective fiction |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Publication date | October 25, 1957 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 186 pp. (first edition) |
| ISBN | NA |
| Preceded by | Three for the Chair |
| Followed by | And Four to Go |
If Death Ever Slept is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1957 and collected in the omnibus volume Three Trumps (Viking 1973).
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
Millionaire Otis Jarrell retains Nero Wolfe to get a snake out of his house – the snake being his daughter-in-law, whom he believes is ruining his business deals by leaking information to his competitors. Since Archie and Wolfe are in the midst of one of their periodic squabbles, it is decided that Archie will move into Jarrell's Fifth Avenue penthouse apartment, posing as his new secretary, While he's away, Orrie tests out Archie's desk.
[edit] Cast of characters
- Nero Wolfe — Private investigator
- Archie Goodwin — Wolfe's assistant (and narrator of all Wolfe stories)
- Otis Jarrell — Millionaire
- Trella Jarrell — Otis Jarrell's second wife
- Lois Jarrell — Otis Jarrell's daughter by his first wife, and a good dancer
- Wyman Jarrell — Otis Jarrell's son by his first wife
- Susan Jarrell — Otis Jarrell's daughter-in-law
- Roger Foote — Trella's brother
- Nora Kent — Stenographer
- James L. Eber — Ex-secretary
- Corey Brigham — Friend of the family
- Saul Panzer, Fred Durkin, Orrie Cather, Dol Bonner, Sally Colt — Private detectives employed by Wolfe
- Inspector Cramer, Sergeant Purley Stebbins — Manhattan Homicide investigators
[edit] Literary significance and criticism
"Though Archie Goodwin is here in top form, not much else can be said for this dose of the mixture as before. Archie is put in as secretary to a rich operator whose business secrets are being stolen. Wolfe neither foresees nor prevents a couple of murders. His activities are limited to three lengthy interviews, at the last of which the killer is unmasked by the use of evidence supplied largely by Inspector Cramer."[1]
[edit] Adaptations
[edit] Circuito chiuso (Radiotelevisione Italiana)
If Death Ever Slept was adapted for a series of Nero Wolfe films produced by the Italian television network RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana). Directed by Giuliana Berlinguer from a teleplay by Margherita Cattaneo, Nero Wolfe: Circuito chiuso first aired March 7, 1969.
The series of black-and-white telemovies stars Tino Buazzelli (Nero Wolfe), Paolo Ferrari (Archie Goodwin), Pupo De Luca (Fritz Brenner), Renzo Palmer (Inspector Cramer), Roberto Pistone (Saul Panzer), Mario Righetti (Orrie Cather) and Gianfranco Varetto (Fred Durkin). Other members of the cast of Circuito chiuso include Mario Pisu (Otis Jarrell), Marzia Ubaldi (Trella Jarrell), Romina Power (Lois Jarrell), Umberto D'Orsi (Roger Foote), Pier Luigi Zollo (Wyman Jarrell), Barbara Valmorin (Nora Kent), Luciano Tacconi (Corey Brigham), Laura Tavanti (Susan Jarrell) and Germano Longo (Jim Eber).
[edit] External links
- Nero Wolfe: Circuito chiuso at the Internet Movie Database
- wiki collection of quotations from If Death Ever Slept
[edit] Release details
- 2002, USA, The Audio Partners Publishing Corp., Mystery Masters ISBN 0553762966 March 12, 2002, audio cassette (unabridged, read by Michael Prichard)
- 1995, USA, Bantam Books ISBN 0553762966 January 2, 1995, paperback
[edit] References
- ^ Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. A Catalogue of Crime. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8
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