In this Nero Wolfe novel, a young girl shows up just as Wolfe is
ceremonially burning the Third Edition (3rd ed.) of
the unabridged
Merriam-Webster Dictionary for offending him intolerably in matters
pertaining to the usage of language and the meaning of words. The girl
tempts the detective to take on her case, proving that her father is
innocent of poisoning her friend, Paul Jerin, with
arsenic in the boy's
chocolate, while the young man played a blindfolded chess tournament with
members of her father's club. Her father had gotten him his hot
chocolate, and the youth had died shortly thereafter. She is sure her
father is innocent, and equally sure his lawyer won't get him off; but
neither of them, nor her mother, would consider hiring Nero Wolfe. She
is equally sure that only the great detective himself can prove her
father's innocence. So the chase begins.
This is an especially interesting
mystery for chess fans and/or
players. Wolfe is more than up to form, and so is Archie Goodwin. It's
a wonderful evening's read.