Rex Stout

Rex Stout was a popular American author who used to write crime novels based on the mystery and thriller genres. He was born on December 1, 1886 in Noblesville, Indiana, United States. His full name was Rex Todhunter Stout, but he used the shortened form of his name for writing his popular novels.

The best place to start is the Nero Wolfe by Rex Stout series, the earliest of Rex Stout's multi-book series: it opens with Fer-de-Lance / Meet Nero Wolfe (1934) and runs to 47 books across 1934–1985, ending with Death Times Three (1985). Rex Stout's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

Rex Stout has 83 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1913 and 2015. 56 of them belong to 3 named series — the largest being the Nero Wolfe by Rex Stout series with 47 books — and 27 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Rex Stout's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Nero Wolfe by Rex Stout (1934–1985, 47 books), Tecumseh Fox (1939–1941, 3 books) and Nero Wolfe Short Stories/Novellas (1950–2015, 6 books).

This guide splits Rex Stout's 83 books into 3 named series and 27 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Nero Wolfe by Rex Stout (47 books, 1934–1985); Nero Wolfe Short Stories/Novellas (6 books, 1950–2015); Tecumseh Fox (3 books, 1939–1941).