And Be a Victor

The Wolfe Pack, a New York City-based organization that celebrates author Rex Stout’s corpulent, orchid-growing detective, Nero Wolfe, has announced its finalists for the 2007 Nero Award. Those three contenders are:

• Kidnapped, by Jan Burke (Simon & Schuster)
• All Mortal Flesh, by Julia Spencer-Fleming (St. Martin’s Minotaur/Thomas Dunne)
• A Stolen Season, by Steve Hamilton (St. Martin’s Minotaur/Thomas Dunne)

The Nero is presented annually to “the novel that best reflects the Nero Wolfe tradition in detective writing.” Past recipients include Laura Lippman, Linda Fairstein, S.J. Rozan, Walter Mosley, Lee Child, and last year’s winner, Tess Gerritsen.

This year’s award will be presented during the Wolfe Pack’s annual Black Orchid Banquet, traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City.