The Black Mountain

infobox Book |
name = The Black Mountain
title_orig =
translator =


author = Rex Stout
cover_artist = Bill English
country = United States
language = English
series = Nero Wolfe
genre = Detective fiction
publisher = Viking Press
release_date = October 14, 1954
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 183 pp. (first edition)
isbn = NA
preceded_by = Three Men Out
followed_by = Before Midnight

"The Black Mountain" is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1954. The story was also collected in the omnibus volume "Three Trumps" (Viking 1955).

This book and the pre-war novel "Over My Dead Body" both involve international intrigue over Montenegro, but under very different circumstances, first concerning Nazi designs on the Balkans, and later in the context of Tito's Yugoslavia.

Plot introduction

In "The Black Mountain" Nero Wolfe's oldest friend and fellow Montenegrin Marko Vukcic is murdered by a Yugoslavian agent who has already made his escape from New York. Without hesitation, Wolfe is compelled to go back to his homeland to avenge Marko's death and bring the killer back to American justice. As they covertly negotiate through one of the most dangerous places on earth, Archie sees Wolfe as he has never seen him before. "Wolfe adopts a disguise to deal with sinister international intriguers and to cope with an enemy to whom murder is trivial."Roseman, Mill "et al". "Detectionary". New York: Overlook Press, 1971. ISBN 0-87951-041-2]

Explanation of the novel's title

"Black Mountain" is simply a translation into English of the Italian "Montenegro", whereas the actual local name of the place is "Crna Gora", and name of the actual mountain referenced in these names is "Lovchen."

Plot summary

In the earlier novel, Wolfe plays a part in impeding the control of Bosnia and Croatia by Nazi Germany. In the later novel Marko's nephew is part of a subversive group to gain independence of Montenegro from Yugoslavia. In the context of 1953 politics, such a concept was unrealistic, and supported by the guerrilla formations of "komite" and Zelenaši, although Montenegro actually became an independent country once again in 2006.

Characters in "The Black Mountain"

*Nero Wolfe – protagonist
*Marko Vukcic – Nero Wolfe's oldest friend

Release details

*2006, USA, The Audio Partners Publishing Corp., Mystery Masters ISBN 1572705450 August 28, 2006, audio CD (unabridged, read by Michael Prichard)
*1988, USA, Bantam Crimeline ISBN 0553272918 July 1, 1988, paperback

References