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This page lists novels and short story collections by Robert Goldsborough.

The cover images shown are of, where possible, the first US edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

Murder in E Minor

Robert Goldsborough

1986

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"It wasn't Nero Wolfe's idea for Orrie Cather to kill himself, but the great detective gave his blessing to his longtime associate's plan. Cather had killed three people, and it was only fair to pay the price. Though Wolfe reacted to Cather's death with his characteristic calmness, prize assistant Archie Goodwin could see the rotund genius of West Thirty-Fifth Street was shaken to his well-fed core. Wolfe decided his sleuthing days were finished. The detective's retirement lasts until the day Maria Radovich walks through his townhouse door. She is the daughter of Milos Stefanovic, New York Symphony conductor and long-ago compatriot of Wolfe's. Like Wolfe, Stefanovic spent his youth as a freedom fighter in the mountains of Montenegro. The conductor has been receiving death threats, and Wolfe agrees to come out of retirement to help his old friend. But before he can attack the case, Stefanovic is murdered, and for the first time in years, Wolfe and Goodwin must go to war."

Death on Deadline

Robert Goldsborough

1987

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"Master sleuth Nero Wolfe's small circle of friends is limited to his assistant Archie Goodwin, his chef Fritz, and Lon Cohen, the head man at the New York Gazette. Cohen knows more about the city's power structure than any man in Manhattan, and for years he happily passed Wolfe information in return for the odd exclusive scoop. But now Cohen needs Wolfe's help, for the Gazette is ailing and the vultures have begun to circle. Scottish newspaper magnate Ian MacLaren plans to gut the paper and turn it into a sex-filled conservative rag. Standing in his way is the company's chief shareholder, Gazette heir Harriet Haverhill. But when the aged Ms. Haverhill dies in an apparent suicide, no one remains to resist the Scot's advances except Wolfe. MacLaren may be fierce, but when the cause is just, Nero Wolfe knows how to play dirty, too."

The Bloodied Ivy

Robert Goldsborough

1988

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"A conservative academic, so far to the right that he thought Ronald Reagan was a pinko, Hale Markham rules Prescott University like an intellectual tyrant -- right up until the morning he is found dead at the bottom of one of Prescott's famously beautiful ravines. Every liberal on campus hated the crotchety old crank, but which one is responsible for giving Markham his final push to the right? The case so intrigues the incomparable, reclusive master detective Nero Wolfe that he takes the unusual step of leaving the confines of his home. With man of action Archie Goodwin at his side, Wolfe examines jealous professors, a fanatical assistant, and a university president with an ego that -- like the school itself -- will not stop growing. Though they are far from the city, Wolfe and Goodwin will find that no back alley is as dangerous as the shadowy corridors of the Ivy League."

The Last Coincidence

Robert Goldsborough

1989

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"When Lily Rowan doesn't laugh at his jokes, Archie Goodwin knows something is wrong. Her niece Noreen has been running around with Sparky Linville, a club-hopping bad boy who is the terror of Manhattan nightlife. And the last time she went out with him, Noreen wasn't herself when she came home. All she would tell her aunt was that she had been assaulted. Springing into action, Goodwin waits for Linville outside of Morgana's, a chrome-and-glass palace that sits like a wart on Second Avenue. They nearly come to blows, but Linville's bodyguard intervenes, and Goodwin retreats to plan his next move. In the morning Linville is dead, and Goodwin is the chief suspect. For years he has helped rotund genius Nero Wolfe out of jams, and now it is time for the master detective to return the favor."

Fade to Black

Robert Goldsborough

1990

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"For the men of Madison Avenue, the battle between soft drink giants Cherr-o-key and AmeriCherry seems heaven-sent. For years now, the firm of Mills/Lake/Ryman has fought to help Cherr-o-key become the nation's favorite fizzy cherry soda, but each time they come up with a new slogan, mascot, or jingle, AmeriCherry has beaten them to it. There is a mole inside the agency, and only Nero Wolfe can ferret him out. Although he is as round as a cherry, Wolfe has no taste for soft drinks. But the question of industrial espionage is too sweet for him to resist, and so with assistant Archie Goodwin at his side, he sets out to end this vicious corporate feud. Only when the first adman dies, however, does he realize that a marketing war can be just as dangerous as the real thing."

Silver Spire

Robert Goldsborough

1992

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"Staten Island would be forgettable were it not for the gleaming Tabernacle of the Silver Spire, where thousands of congregants come every Sunday to hear the sermons of Barnabas Bay. Millions more tune in on television, giving the good Reverend international fame, and a chance to spread the gospel from New York City's harbor all the way to South Korea. But threatening notes have been appearing in the collection bag, suggesting that one of the faithful has decided it's time this good shepherd get the hook. Believing organized religion is nothing more than a scam, rotund sleuth Nero Wolfe refuses to investigate the threats, instead recommending veteran investigator Fred Durkin for the case. But when Durkin is accused of murdering the Reverend's assistant, Wolfe fights to clear his name. He may not be a Christian, but he will always help a brother in need."

The Missing Chapter

Robert Goldsborough

1994

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"The gun was fired close to Charles Childress's head, and his were the only fingerprints on it, forcing the police to conclude that the author committed suicide. But his friends know this is impossible, because Childress loved himself far too much. He had just begun attracting fame, writing new mysteries starring the iconic Sergeant Barnstable, and he had bright hopes for the future. His publisher hires corpulent genius Nero Wolfe to determine who cut Childress's career short, and the detective finds no dearth of suspects. Among the many who may have wanted the wordsmith whacked are his agent, his editor, a corrupt book reviewer, and an enraged legion of Barnstable devotees. With the help of his indefatigable assistant, Archie Goodwin, Wolfe takes a look at those closest to the arrogant, argumentative author, hoping to decide which of Childress's associates merely hated him, and which would have been willing to kill."

Three Strikes You're Dead

Robert Goldsborough

2005

A Snap Malek novel.

"In the shadowy metropolis that is 1938 Chicago, Steve Malek is a Tribune police reporter in a city gripped by the Kelly-Nash political machine and the post-Capone crime syndicate. With the winds of change blowing in, Malek senses the story of a lifetime when a reform candidate for mayor is gunned down by an unknown assailant. Incurring the anger of his editors, Malek ranges far beyond his beat, plunging into a maverick investigation of the murder that soon spins beyond his control. However, it's the other side of the law, displeased with Malek's inquiries, that leaves him dangling on the edge of life and death. Along this precarious journey, Malek is dazzled by actress Helen Hayes, and crosses paths with Richard J. Daley, legendary Tribune publisher Robert R. McCormick, Al Capone, and pitching great Dizzy Dean, who after being traded to the Cubs at the start of the '38 season, helps lead the race for the pennant, never imagining he will be the key to Malek's very survival!"

Shadow of the Bomb

Robert Goldsborough

2006

A Snap Malek novel.

"Against the ominous backdrop of America's entry into World War II, the navy still reels from the devastation wreaked at Pearl Harbor and the crushing defeat of US ground troops in the Philippines. On the home front, scientists at the University of Chicago under Enrico Fermi labor feverishly on a secret weapon that promises to reverse the fortunes of battle. However, sinister forces are at work on the outwardly serene Gothic campus, resulting in violent deaths. While work grinds on in the shadowy catacombs beneath an abandoned football stadium–work that will forever alter our world–Chicago Tribune police reporter Steve Malek delves into the intrigue. Battling for an exclusive story and, ultimately, for his very life, Malek finds himself in the midst of history-in-the-making."

A Death in Pilsen

Robert Goldsborough

2007

A Snap Malek novel.

"1946, the first post-World War II year, finds Tribune police reporter Snap Malek hip deep in a murder case. Someone has stabbed his cousin's British war bride to death in their Bohemian neighborhood home in Pilsen. As the prime suspect, the meek and self-effacing man is jailed, and Malek, convinced of his innocence, begins a dogged hunt for the murderer. Snap’s rogue investigation takes him into the shadowy blue-collar saloon world of Pilsen, where he encounters a mélange of characters. Despite objections from the police, Malek presses on, incurring the anger of one of the bar’s habitués, and fighting for his life in a bare-knuckle slugfest in a Pilsen street. Determined, Malek hires the city’s best defense attorney, encounters legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and deals with the traumatic emotional distraction of reporting on one of the nation’s worst-ever train wrecks that rocked the western Chicago suburb of Naperville. Finally, when Snap turns his attention back to the murder case, he finds multiple surprises and an unexpected and tragic resolution."

A President in Peril

Robert Goldsborough

2009

A Snap Malek novel.

"Autumn 1948 - the final tense days of the Presidential campaign between incumbent Harry S Truman and Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey. As Truman prepares for a visit to Chicago, Tribune police reporter Steve 'Snap' Malek is warned of a plan by an anti-Semitic group to assassinate the President because of his recognition of the new state of Israel. This hate group pressures Malek to give them publicity in the Tribune. He demurs, and the menacing organization, calling itself The New Reich, begins killing Chicagoans, one a day, including a policeman and a fireman. They threaten to kill more unless Malek writes about them, although their spokesman, contacting the reporter by phone, refuses his request for an in-person interview. Malek begins his dogged hunt for the people behind The New Reich, along the way meeting maverick automaker Preston Tucker and getting a chance to drive his revolutionary new car. Finally, one week before the election, Truman arrives in Chicago for a parade, and Malek comes face-to-face with the would-be assassin, laying his own life on the line in a desperate attempt to stifle the deadly plot."

A Call from Rockford

Robert Goldsborough

Echelon Press

2010

A Snap Malek novella published electronically.

"A young girl, a neighbor of Chicago tribune police reporter Snap Malek, has gone missing. Frantic, her parents enlist Snap's aid. Hoping to help locate the girl and bring attention to the plight of other missing children, Malek writes a feature story for the Trib about the girl's disappearance. Aid comes in an unusual way. A phone call from Rockford with an apparent tip takes Snap on a trip to the Northeast Illinois city and a surprising discovery. What is the truth?"

Terror at the Fair

Robert Goldsborough

2011

A Snap Malek novel.

"It's the summer of 1949 and Steve 'Snap' Malek has been assigned by his editors to cover the Chicago Railroad Fair. For three months this sprawling and lavish event will draw visitors to the showcase on the city's beautiful Lakefront. Malek, used to getting his headlines covering the gritty Police Headquarters, sees this as the first step in being put out to pasture. Deciding that a man's got to do what a man's got to do, he accepts the assignment, grumbling all the while. However, violence has a way of finding the intrepid Snap Malek, even in this least likely of locales. Striking indiscriminately, a killer bearing a grudge against railroads in general, threatens to shut down the highly publicized and well-attended national exposition with a series of bizarre murders. Before this reign of terror ends, famed filmmaker Walt Disney enters the scene with a theory about the killer, and Malek himself, bloodied and wounded, becomes a target of the madman’s wrath."

Archie Meets Nero Wolfe

Robert Goldsborough

2012

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"Archie Goodwin comes to New York City hoping for a bit of excitement. In his third week working as a night watchman, he stops two burglars in their tracks -- with a pair of hot lead slugs. Dismissed from his job for being 'trigger-happy,' he parlays his newfound notoriety into a job as a detective's assistant, helping honest sleuth Del Bascom solve cases like the Morningside Piano Heist, the Rive Gauche Art Gallery Swindle, and the Sumner-Hayes Burglary. But it's the kidnapping of Tommie Williamson, the son of a New York hotel magnate, that introduces Goodwin to the man who will change his life. Young Tommie has gone missing, and only one detective is built for the job: Nero Wolfe, the heavyset genius of West Thirty-Fifth Street. Together they will form one of the most unlikely crime fighting duos in history -- but first Goodwin must find Tommie Williamson, and prove to Wolfe that he deserves a place by his side."

Murder in the Ball Park

Robert Goldsborough

2014

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"Archie Goodwin and Saul Panzer have ventured into the wilds of northern Manhattan to watch the Giants take on the Dodgers at the Polo Grounds. The national anthem is just winding down when Panzer spies a notable in the box seats: state senator Orson Milbank, a silver-haired scoundrel with enemies in every corner of upstate New York. In the fourth inning, a monstrous line drive brings every fan in the grandstand to his feet -- every fan save for one silver-haired senator, who has been shot dead by a sniper in the upper deck. Archie's employer -- the rotund genius Nero Wolfe -- has no interest in investigating the stadium slaying, but Archie is swayed by the senator's suspiciously lovely widow. Her husband was mired hip-deep in corruption, and sorting out who killed him will be a task far less pleasant than an afternoon at the ball park."

Archie in the Crosshairs

Robert Goldsborough

2015

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"Archie Goodwin is chipper as he strolls home from his weekly poker game, money in his pocket and a smile on his lips. He has just reached Nero Wolfe’s stately brownstone on West Thirty-Fifth Street when a sedan whips around the corner and two gunshots ring out, nearly hitting Goodwin. It is a warning, and the message is clear: The next bullet will not miss. Rotund investigator Nero Wolfe has made more than his fair share of enemies over the years, and it seems one of them has decided to strike, targeting Wolfe’s indefatigable assistant. Some might run for cover, but Archie Goodwin is not the type. With the help of Wolfe’s brainpower, Goodwin will find the man who wants him dead—unless the killer gets to Goodwin first."

Stop the Presses!

Robert Goldsborough

2016

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"There are few people Nero Wolfe respects, and Lon Cohen of the New York Gazette is one of them. So when Cohen asks for a favor, the famously brilliant—and notoriously lazy—detective is inclined to listen. According to Cohen, someone wants to kill the Gazette’s gossip columnist, Cameron Clay. Death threats are a regular hazard for Clay, who’s hurled insults and accusations at every bold-faced name in the five boroughs. But the latest threats have carried a more sinister tone. The columnist has narrowed his potential killers down to five people: an egomaniacal developer, a disgraced cop, a corrupt councilman, a sleazy lawyer, and his own ex-wife. But when Clay turns up dead, the cops deem it a suicide. The bigwigs at the Gazette don’t agree, so they retain Wolfe and his indefatigable assistant, Archie Goodwin, to figure out which of the suspects had the mettle to pull the trigger."

Murder, Stage Left

Robert Goldsborough

2017

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"When a renowned theater director senses something amiss during his latest production, he calls in Nero Wolfe. Though the corpulent genius wouldn’t normally accept a job this vague, a mutual friend dangles the prospect of a very rare orchid in exchange for his services, and Wolfe can’t resist. With a mind to suss out useful backstage gossip, Wolfe turns to his faithful assistant, Archie Goodwin, to impersonate a journalist in order to speak to the cast. Though Goodwin’s conversations prove unfruitful, on his last day at the theater, the director is murdered in his soundproof booth, poisoned by an unseen culprit during an evening performance. Now Goodwin is a prime suspect in the director’s demise, effectively sidelining him for the rest of the case, and freelance gumshoe Saul Panzer must step in to help wrangle the various members of the play so New York’s smartest, and most reclusive, private detective can determine who is responsible for these dramatic deaths and clear Goodwin’s name once and for all."

Stairway to Nowhere And Other Stories: A Snap Malek Reader

Robert Goldsborough

2017

A Snap Malek novella and five short stories.

"Stairway to Nowhere is only one of Snap’s dramatic encounters. This bonus companion book to the Snap Malek Mysteries offers several more of his unique experiences."

• Stairway to Nowhere
• A Phone Call To Rockford
• The One-Eyed Man On The Elevated
• A Blaze In The Night
• The Iron Sergeant
• The Reporter And The Frantic Wife

The Battered Badge

Robert Goldsborough

2018

A Nero Wolfe novel.

"When wealthy and popular crusader and reformer Lester Pierce is gunned down in front of his Park Avenue residence, the public outcry forces the NYPD to restructure its homicide department. As the deceased was highly critical of Inspector Lionel Cramer, the longtime head of homicide is temporarily relieved of his badge. But it seems Cramer was not just a scapegoat: He was seen dining in Little Italy with mob kingpin Ralph Mars. All of which amounts to little more than conversational fodder for PI Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin. But if Cramer’s provisional replacement, Capt. George Rowcliff, becomes permanent, Wolfe’s future dealings with the force will be much compromised. Loath to depart from his routine, Wolfe makes the unusual decision to take on a case without an actual client."