The Black Mountain
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The Black Mountain Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Rex Stout (Author), Michael Prichard (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,279 ratings
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When evil strikes a loved one, it can make us crazy. We can't think rationally enough to get revenge ourselves, so we shouldn't. But Nero Wolfe ignores reason when someone guns down a close friend in cold blood. He vows to collar the killer personally, and it thrusts him into the gravest danger of his career. The case takes him 4,000 miles across the ocean to the hazardous mountains of Montenegro, where Communist cutthroats have also disposed of Wolfe's adopted daughter. Now they zero in on the world-famous detective himself.
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  1. Listening Length
    6 hours and 26 minutes
  2. Author
    Rex Stout
  3. Narrator
    Michael Prichard
  4. Audible release date
    April 4, 2007
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B006U3XK3U
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 6 hours and 26 minutes
Author Rex Stout
Narrator Michael Prichard
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date April 04, 2007
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B006U3XK3U
Best Sellers Rank #50,422 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#435 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Audible Books & Originals)
#1,925 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Books)
#4,030 in Suspense (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,279 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Susan pfund
5.0 out of 5 stars Great plot line
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024
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My many friends in the Midwest would love this just up their street
I lived on a ranch for years
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william mccavey
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not my fav. Nero Wolfe mystery, Still Archie is Hilarious!
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2023
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So, this Nero Wolfe mystery detective series has the usual deductions and inductions and imputations of the genius detective Nero, and same antics of Archie Goodwin, but it's been a lot of time on travel and geography in Montenegro country that no longer exists. Just for filling time and feeling pages it appears.. otherwise it was a usual great read by Rex Stout.
One person found this helpful
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larry lisle
5.0 out of 5 stars one of Rex Stout’s best!
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2023
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The Black Mountain takes Nero Wolfe out of his office to avenge the death of his closest friend. To fully appreciate the tale, read a couple of other Nero Wolfe stories first. One of my favorites is Death of a Doxy, but they’re all good.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorites
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2018
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Wolfe's close friend, Marko Vukcic, is gunned down in front of his house, and Wolfe is determined to bring the killer to justice. Weeks are spent on the investigation, but Wolfe finally finds the killer is to be found somewhere in the Balkans. Therefore, the only course is for Wolfe and Archie to go to Montenegro. This is absolutely never heard of activity for Wolfe. The activities they engage in are amazing, and is a great read. Of course Wolfe ultimately finds the actual killer and brings him to justice, but there are thrilling adventures for them before they are able to accomplish that. I highly recommend this book.
3 people found this helpful
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Shakepen
3.0 out of 5 stars This novel has problems
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2012
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This novel has structural problems. The Nero Wolf series is interesting because 1) Nero Wolf is an eccentric, who is able to behave as he wishes toward everyone. 2) The interaction between Wolf and his long-suffering fellow detective, secretary, and general factotum, Archie Goodwin, is an interesting relationship. 3) The setting is interesting. The old brownstone with its 10,000 orchids, all male inhabitants, overseen by the eccentric Wolf, is unique. This novel is not a detective novel: it is a revenge tale. In consequence, there is not much detection going on. It becomes more like a spy novel, and if this novel is any indication, a genre that Stout should avoid.

The Black Mountain has none of these characteristics. By setting the novel in the defunct country of Yugoslavia, Archie Goodwin is effectively silenced since he cannot speak the language, and so the relationship between Wolf and Goodwin is effectively muted. This novel is not a detective novel: it is a revenge tale. In consequence, there is not much detection going on. It becomes more like a spy novel, and if this novel is any indication, a genre that Stout should avoid.
Because Wolf needs others to carry out his revenge, he cannot be the eccentric diva that demands everyone follow his demands. He needs the help of others, which puts him in the position of changing his personality.

Stout attempts to gloss over both the setting and the structural handicaps he has given himself as a writer by making the terrain difficult and detailing Wolf's many physical discomforts. Unfortunately, these distractions don't work. But, then, it is a Nero Wolf mystery, which redeems a rather pedestrian novel.
4 people found this helpful
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JM Harvey
5.0 out of 5 stars A great series
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2018
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This isn't one of my favorite Wolfe books since we lose Marko, who wasn't a main character in the series but he helped humanize Wolfe since he seemed to be Wolfe's only friend, we also spend a great deal of time outside of the environs of the brownstone, far from Cramer and Saul, Fritz and the Orchids. That said it's still a good read and we do get to see Wolfe exert himself more than any other books other than the Zeck trilogy. Archie and Wolfe make this a fun read, but it's darker than many of the other books. Still it's well worth the time to read it...and reread it. Stout was a master.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Richard
4.0 out of 5 stars A Pivotal Story
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2014
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This is another one of the "must-haves" or "must-reads" if one is a fan or Archie Goodwin & Nero Wolfe stories. It is a pivotal story. Many (most?) of the other stories refer to Rusterman's, and either refer to it as being owned by Marko (before this story), or having been owned by Marko (after this story). It's like the book where Archie first meets Lily Rowan -- it's one of the pivotal books to the series.

As for the story, many others have summarized it here. I would point out that it really shows the depth of loyalty that Mr Wolfe has for his friends.

Many of the regulars (Fritz, Inspector Cramer, Stebbins, Saul) only make brief appearances, as the bulk of the story takes place outside of the United States.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

mark g kehoe
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Reviewed in Canada on August 25, 2023
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Cleverly designed and written
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Frank 9
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Unusual Wolfe Story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2013
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This story breaks out of the familiar mould as Wolfe & Archie go abroad to sort out stark disasters in the eponymous Montenegro of Wolfe's childhood. Wolfe gets an unprecedented amount of exercise and in the course of a politically charged story, in which his physical courage and toughness play as much of a part as his capacity for observation & deduction, we learn much about his past.
Beautifully written as always.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars as it is set in Yugoslavia and is more like a thriller than a pure who-dun-it
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2014
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An interesting story, this one. Most of the Nero Wolfe stories are fairly similar but this is quite unusual, as it is set in Yugoslavia and is more like a thriller than a pure who-dun-it. The physical feats that Nero Wolfe performs, having for once left the comfort of his office, seem quite impossible for someone of his supposed age and fitness and Archie is unusually reticent, but as usual it's a good read.
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N. Kilpatrick
5.0 out of 5 stars Wolfe In Europe!
Reviewed in Canada on November 21, 2021
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Nero Wolfe doesn’t just leave his apartment, he leaves the continent and ends up in Montenegro looking for the killer of a close friend. In this book we learn more about Nero Wolfe than in any that I’ve read so far, his history and his connections. Archie narrates this after the fact because he doesn’t speak the language and Hass to get everything in translation later. It’s an intriguing, international, political story.
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Michael David Picton
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 13, 2015
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Stout never fails
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