Fade to Black (mystery novel)

Fade to Black (mystery novel)

infobox Book |
name = Fade to Black
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Robert Goldsborough
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Nero Wolfe
genre = Mystery Novel
publisher = Bantam Books
release_date = October 1990
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 0-553-07060-6 (first edition, hardback)
preceded_by = The Last Coincidence
followed_by = Silver Spire

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.

Plot summary

Nearly all the principals in the book have something to hide, and therefore something for Archie 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.

Genesis

Wolfe's right-hand man and Archie Goodwin 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.

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 (documented poignantly by de Tocqueville in 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 Goodwin – 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


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fade to Black — can refer to:*Fade (lighting), a fade out in theater lighting terminology, often called a fade to black * Fade to Black (song) , a song by Metallica from their album Ride the Lightning * Fade to Black , a song by Dire Straits from their album On… …   Wikipedia

  • The Black Death (novel) — Infobox Book name = The Black Death title orig = translator = image caption = Dust jacket from the first edition author = Basil Copper illustrator = Stefanie Hawks cover artist = Stefanie Hawks country = United States language = English series =… …   Wikipedia

  • Street Spirit (Fade Out) — Single infobox Name = Street Spirit (Fade Out) Artist = Radiohead from Album = The Bends Released = January 22, 1996 Format = CD, 7 Recorded = ? Genre = Alternative rock Length = 4 min 12 s Label = Parlophone CDRS 6419 (UK, CD 1) CDR 6419 (UK, CD …   Wikipedia

  • Nero Wolfe — This article is about Rex Stout s fictional detective. For other uses, see Nero Wolfe (disambiguation). Bitter End Carl Mueller illustrated Rex Stout s first Nero Wolfe novella for The American Magazine (November 1940) Nero Wolfe is a fictional… …   Wikipedia

  • Psycho (film) — For other films using this title, see Psycho. For the 1998 remake, see Psycho (1998 film). Psycho …   Wikipedia

  • Detective fiction — Detective story redirects here. For other uses, see Detective Story. Detective fiction is a sub genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator (often a detective), either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often… …   Wikipedia

  • List of World War II films — Below is an incomplete list of fictional feature films or mini series which feature events of World War II in the narrative. A separate list of full fledged TV series appears at the end. Contents 1 Restrictions 2 Films made during the war …   Wikipedia

  • List of past General Hospital characters — The following is a list of notable past characters from the soap opera, General Hospital who are not notable enough for their own articles. Characters are listed based on the decade in which they first appeared. Contents 1 2010 present 1.1 Warren …   Wikipedia

  • Mark Waid bibliography — Waid at the New York Comic Convention in Manhattan, October 10, 2010. Active period 1985  present Publishers …   Wikipedia

  • Viz Media — For the British comic magazine, see Viz (comic). VIZ Media Type Private Industry publication Founded San Francisco, California (1986) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”