Fade to Black (mystery novel)
Encyclopedia
Fade to Black is a Nero Wolfe
mystery novel by Robert Goldsborough
, the fifth of seven Nero Wolfe books extending the Rex Stout
canon. It was first published by Bantam
in hardcover in 1990.
Fade to Black is set in the advertising world, and as such is a nice counterpoint to Stout's
Wolfe novel Before Midnight
(1955). Whereas the earlier book centres on jealousies within a large and established agency, and a nationwide perfume contest, the Goldsborough book is concerned with a mid-sized boutique agency coping with issues such as idea theft between ad agencies and television spots for the Super Bowl
, which was still ten years in the future when Before Midnight was written.
and Wolfe to inquire about, but not every secret is criminal, and the balance between private lives (including a passionate but commercially meaningless liaison between two hostile principals) and responsible disclosure is handled adroitly, and far better than in most Rex Stout
novels. Just as in Before Midnight
the agency partners have strong personality clashes, but this is seen in this book as a price that is paid for complementary talents in a boutique firm.
is attending a Super Bowl
party thrown by his "good friend" Lily Rowan at her East Side penthouse in Manhattan
. During the game, there is a spectacular commercial involving parachutists, acrobats, and more promoting a cherry-flavored soft drink call Cherr-o-kee. One of the partners of the ad agency that put on that stunt, Rod Mills, is also at the party, and takes Goodwin aside to say that he'd like help with a problem.
Later, all three partners of Mills/Lake/Ryman meet at Wolfe's office discuss an acute problem of industrial espionage they've been having lately: their best ideas being discovered and used by a larger agency representing another cherry-flavored soft drink.
This prompts the owner of Cherr-o-kee, a reclusive part-Cherokee billionaire named Acker Foreman to pay Wolfe a visit, along with his two adult sons, Arnold and Stephen. Despite the tense situation, Wolfe gains Acker Foreman's respect with his knowledge of his career and of Cherokee history, especially the Trail of Tears
(documented poignantly by de Tocqueville
in Democracy in America
). Arnold, however, displays the same hostility as he has to M/L/R personnel.
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...
mystery novel by Robert Goldsborough
Robert Goldsborough (author)
Robert Gerald Goldsborough is an American author of mystery novels.Goldborough grew up in the Chicago area. Although he worked for 45 years for the Chicago Tribune and Advertising Age, he first came to prominence in the 1980s with the publication, with the approval of the estate of Rex Stout, of...
, the fifth of seven Nero Wolfe books extending the Rex Stout
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
canon. It was first published by Bantam
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
in hardcover in 1990.
Fade to Black is set in the advertising world, and as such is a nice counterpoint to Stout's
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
Wolfe novel Before Midnight
Before Midnight
Before Midnight is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout published in 1955 by the Viking Press. The story was also collected in the omnibus volume Three Trumps .-Plot introduction:...
(1955). Whereas the earlier book centres on jealousies within a large and established agency, and a nationwide perfume contest, the Goldsborough book is concerned with a mid-sized boutique agency coping with issues such as idea theft between ad agencies and television spots for the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, which was still ten years in the future when Before Midnight was written.
Plot summary
Nearly all the principals in the book have something to hide, and therefore something for ArchieArchie Goodwin (fictional detective)
Archie Goodwin is a fictional character and detective in Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. The witty voice of all the stories, he recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 to 1975 . He lives in Nero Wolfe's brownstone in New York City.Archie was born on October 23 in Chillicothe, Ohio,...
and Wolfe to inquire about, but not every secret is criminal, and the balance between private lives (including a passionate but commercially meaningless liaison between two hostile principals) and responsible disclosure is handled adroitly, and far better than in most Rex Stout
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
novels. Just as in Before Midnight
Before Midnight
Before Midnight is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout published in 1955 by the Viking Press. The story was also collected in the omnibus volume Three Trumps .-Plot introduction:...
the agency partners have strong personality clashes, but this is seen in this book as a price that is paid for complementary talents in a boutique firm.
Genesis
Wolfe's right-hand man and amanuensis Archie GoodwinArchie Goodwin (fictional detective)
Archie Goodwin is a fictional character and detective in Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. The witty voice of all the stories, he recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 to 1975 . He lives in Nero Wolfe's brownstone in New York City.Archie was born on October 23 in Chillicothe, Ohio,...
is attending a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
party thrown by his "good friend" Lily Rowan at her East Side penthouse in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. During the game, there is a spectacular commercial involving parachutists, acrobats, and more promoting a cherry-flavored soft drink call Cherr-o-kee. One of the partners of the ad agency that put on that stunt, Rod Mills, is also at the party, and takes Goodwin aside to say that he'd like help with a problem.
Later, all three partners of Mills/Lake/Ryman meet at Wolfe's office discuss an acute problem of industrial espionage they've been having lately: their best ideas being discovered and used by a larger agency representing another cherry-flavored soft drink.
Development
The problem as presented by M/L/R is simple: to find the spy within the agency: the source of the industrial esponiage. Therefore, Goodwin has to look into possible links between members of the firm and its rival. While this remains elusive, it becomes clear that the executive of the rival drink's campaign is the recipient of the information, but it isn't long before he is found dead in his apartment (by Archie, who else?).This prompts the owner of Cherr-o-kee, a reclusive part-Cherokee billionaire named Acker Foreman to pay Wolfe a visit, along with his two adult sons, Arnold and Stephen. Despite the tense situation, Wolfe gains Acker Foreman's respect with his knowledge of his career and of Cherokee history, especially the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
(documented poignantly by de Tocqueville
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution . In both of these works, he explored the effects of the rising equality of social conditions on the individual and the state in...
in Democracy in America
Democracy in America
De la démocratie en Amérique is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville. A "literal" translation of its title is Of Democracy in America, but the usual translation of the title is simply Democracy in America...
). Arnold, however, displays the same hostility as he has to M/L/R personnel.
Dénouement
After further investigation, Wolfe gathers the interested parties at his brownstone to lay out his proposed solution, this time without enough evidence to please law enforcement. However, since his mandate is simply to stop industrial espionage, he can (arguably) collect his fee. The rest is left for the reader to discover.Characters in "Fade to Black"
- Nero Wolfe – the detective, protagonist
- Archie GoodwinArchie Goodwin (fictional detective)Archie Goodwin is a fictional character and detective in Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. The witty voice of all the stories, he recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 to 1975 . He lives in Nero Wolfe's brownstone in New York City.Archie was born on October 23 in Chillicothe, Ohio,...
– Wolfe's right hand man - Lily Rowan – who throws the party which Archie and Mills attend
- Rod Mills – a partner in the ad agency
- Lake – a partner in the ad agency
- Ryman – a partner in the ad agency
- Acker Foreman – a reclusive part-Cherokee billionaire
Release details
- 1990, USA, Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-07060-6, Pub date ? October 1990, hardback (First edition)
- 1991, USA, Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-29264-1, Pub date ? September 1991, paperback