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Read The Sound Of Murder (1983)

The Sound of Murder (1983)

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Rating
3.73 of 5 Votes: 3
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ISBN
0553229370 (ISBN13: 9780553229370)
Language
English

The Sound Of Murder (1983) - Plot & Excerpts

One of Stout's strengths is certainly his engaging first-person narration. That's part of why Archie Goodwin is such a wonderful character. Sadly, this book has neither Archie or first-person. "Alphabet" Hicks is a rather flat character with some artificial quirkiness (such as business cards with ridiculous acronyms printed on them - a detail which seems completely at-odds with the matter-of-fact character). There were small touches that maybe made Hicks a more engaging character in later books (were there more ABC Hicks books?), such as his dislike of crooked dealings (so great that he was disbarred for speaking up against corruption when he saw it), but these were still overshadowed by closely-followed PI-novel conventions (the women fouling things up, everyone being contrary for no good reason). I'm glad I read it, but I'm also glad I have another Nero Wolfe novel to read now as a palate-cleanser.

THE SOUND OF MURDER. (1941). Rex Stout. ***.Originally titled “Alphabet Hicks,” this was one of Stout’s attempts to develop an alternative character to Nero Wolfe in a crime series. Stout tried to flesh out Alphabet Hicks, and almost made it. The real problem was not with the character; it was with the plot. Hicks lacked the infrastructure that Wolfe gave his other characters, and found himself doing things that were usually done by assistants or other key characters. Bearing this onus, Hicks had too little time to “be himself.” The result was a less than sterling performance in this novel. I don’t know if Stout tried other executions of the Hicks character. I need to do a little research to find out. In any event, hold on to your Nero Wolfe books for re-reading someday. That’s the character that will last and mark out Stout’s claim to fame.

What do You think about The Sound Of Murder (1983)?

Featuring "Alphabet Hicks" this is a partially successful mystery revolving around the new potential of recorded sounds to complicate motives and murder. Unfortunately much of the drama revolves around Hicks realising something which should be plainly obvious to a group of people working in the field of sound technology.There's a romantic plotline which was teeth-gritting to me (male in ardent pursuit and female having transparent NononononoI'mnotinterestedatall "protests too much" fits is not a dynamic which amuses me).
—Andrea

Decent book with typically thin Rex Stout plot. Two women with identical voices threaten to upset a conspiracy in the plastics industry. Sure, Rex. However, Alphabet Hicks is a quite full character, although he hews a bit close to Nero Wolfe, and the dialogue is of first rate. I found the ending flat. Notably, it copies the typical Wolfe move of assembling all of the characters for a round of dramatic false but logical accusations in order to uncover the real killer. In fact, most of the thrills - and there are plenty - are squarely in the Wolfe vein but with Hicks substituted for Wolfe and Goodwin. I found this change agreeable, simply because I've read a lot of the latter and found it a welcome change of pace.
—Sloweducation

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