The Wolfe at the Door

I was away for a few days in chilly (and I do mean chilly--9 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit) Minneapolis, Minnesota, attending a friend’s surprise birthday party. So forgive me for coming to you late with this news: Tess Gerritsen has won the 2006 Nero Wolfe Award for her novel Vanish (2005). The award is given out by The Wolfe Pack, a New York-based Nero Wolfe fan association. Gerritsen received her commendation during a banquet held in Manhattan on December 2.

“Around 80 people turned out to dine at the private party,” Gerritsen recalls in her blog. “And the evening could only be described, in Nero’s immortal words of high praise, as ‘most satisfactory.’ This was not your usual mystery awards night, primarily because the attendees weren’t mystery writers at all, nor even people in the publishing world. These were readers from all walks of life, from a former captain in Military Intelligence, to a former pediatrician (who once treated primates in the Bronx Zoo), and everyone in between. What unites them is a fondness (one might call it an obsession) for the character of Nero Wolfe--gourmand, private detective and orchid aficionado.”