The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout was first published in 1966 and is really quite a remarkable book considering its subject matter and the times in which it was published.

J. Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and he stayed in that office until his death in 1972 at the age of 77. He had a terrific amount of power and people were terrified of him for good reason as he could easily ruin careers and lives – and he did so – often.

Anyway, that’s the background to the time the book was written in. In The Doorbell Rang a very rich widow, Rachel Bruner has bought 10,000 copies of a book called The FBI Nobody Knows in which the FBI is said to be overstepping their remit and getting involved in illegal actions, she has sent the books to influential people and anybody whom she thinks should read it. As you can imagine this has not gone down well within the FBI and Rachel Bruner believes that she is being tailed and her phones are being tapped, also her friends are being hauled in for questioning. She wants to hire Nero Wolfe to prove that the FBI are harrassing her and her friends and for him to put a stop to it.

Unsurprisingly Nero Wolfe isn’t at all keen to take on the case because he doesn’t want to be targeted by the FBI too, but eventually he gives in when an enormous cheque is given to him. It means that he won’t have to take on any more cases for a good while and he can concentrate on reading, and of course his beloved orchids.

With Archie Goodwin and not forgetting Fritz the chef who provides them with wonderful meals, this is my favourit Rex Stout so far. I feel that it was the author’s way of getting a lot off his chest about the FBI. Hoover was a distinctly weird and dangerous character and he did have Rex Stout in his sights.

Sadly history is repeating itself – as it usually does, with any ‘whistleblowers’ nowadays being hounded and vilified, just for telling the truth about what the powers that be are getting up to.

Anyway, I’ve meandered from the book as usual, if you haven’t read The Doorbell Rang, you should.