This is Rex Stout's first mystery novel, featuring the first appearance of Nero Wolfe, one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time. As any herpetologist knows, the fer-de-lance is among the most dreaded snakes on Earth. When someone makes a present of one to Wolfe, his assistant Archie Goodwin knows the large detective must be getting dangerously close to solving the murders of an immigrant and a college president. As for Wolfe, he's busy playing snake charmer in a case with more twists than an anaconda.
