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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Barely any
No graphic violence — the confrontation is purely intellectual
Language
None
Witty, polished prose; clean language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
Wolfe's famous beer drinking — constant but light-toned
Emotional Intensity
Barely any
Very low — the novel's pleasures are comic and intellectual
What this book is about
When a wealthy woman who distributed ten thousand copies of an FBI-critical book finds herself under surveillance, she hires Nero Wolfe to make J. Edgar Hoover back off. Wolfe — with his orchids, his beer, and his refusal to leave the brownstone — pits his intelligence against the full apparatus of federal surveillance. One of the best of Stout's beloved series: a mystery, a comedy, and an argument for the dignity of the private citizen against the state.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A battle of wits between Wolfe and the FBI — appropriate for most readers
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