Target Practice

By Rex Stout

An invaluable sample of the early work of one of America's finest mystery writers.

Decades before detective Nero Wolfe and his sidekick, Archie Goodwin, first struck fear into the hearts of Manhattan's criminals, Rex Stout wrote fiction for All-Stories Magazine. By the time the Wolfe series brought him fame, Stout had put his early work behind him, and made no effort to preserve it. At the time of his death, these early mysteries and suspense stories were thought to be lost forever, but deep in the Library of Congress lay copies of the original magazine. Published for the first time in 1997, these early gems show a writer deploying all the humor, style, and clever plotting that would make Nero Wolfe a star.

Included here are 'Secrets,' Stout's first mystery, 'Target Practice,' a story of World War I, and 'Justice Ends at Home,' whose main characters will look very familiar to fans of Nero and Archie.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Jun 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781784088552

Rex Stout

Rex Todhunter Stout (1886 – 1975) was an American crime writer, best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe and assistant Archie Goodwin. The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon 2000, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century. Rex passed away in 1975.

Reviews for Target Practice

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Thi sis a collection of Stout's early non-Nero Wolfe stories. The title story is a grim anti-military piece. The themes vary. A few such as "Justice Begins at Home" have more of a mystery element and are more enjoyable (for me, at least).

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Can't remember this either. :( These are short stories first published in the All-Story Magazine.