Nero Wolfe and The Devil’s Auction

Nero Wolfe and The Devil’s Auction | A Nero Wolfe Classic

When wealthy collector Agatha Hardwicke arrives at Nero Wolfe's brownstone on a frozen November morning, she brings a tale that defies belief: her husband is dying from burns that ignited from within, joining three other victims who perished in equally impossible ways—drowning in sealed rooms, suffocating in open air, combusting without flame. Each victim purchased artifacts at an exclusive underground auction, and each death mirrors their acquisition's ancient purpose with terrifying precision.
Wolfe dismisses the case as theatrical superstition—until a sixteenth-century grimoire appears on his doorstep overnight, bypassing his fortress's bulletproof windows, reinforced doors, and six fiercely intelligent guard dogs. Inside the ancient book, written in fresh ink, is a list of the condemned. The names of the dead are crossed out. Thomas Hardwicke's name is underlined twice.
And Nero Wolfe's name is circled.
Someone has made this personal. Someone believes the great detective owes a debt to forces beyond his control. Someone is very, very wrong.
As Archie Goodwin plunges into Manhattan's shadowy world of occult dealers and black-market antiquities, he uncovers a conspiracy eight decades in the making—a vendetta rooted in Nazi genocide, family annihilation, and artifacts stolen from a Bavarian castle in 1945. The auction wasn't commerce; it was a trap designed to identify and execute everyone who profited from theft, using the very objects they purchased as instruments of poetic justice.
But the killer isn't a supernatural force—it's a brilliant, damaged woman named Vivienne Pemberton, granddaughter of the sole survivor of the Von Thorstein family massacre. Raised on stories of sacred duty and cosmic retribution, Vivienne has spent thirty years mastering forgotten rituals, preparing toxins, and building the perfect revenge. Now she's executing judgment on the guilty, one impossible death at a time, and she won't stop until the final names are crossed from her list.

Disclaimer:

This is a fan-made storytelling video inspired by the world of Nero Wolfe, the legendary detective created by The Legend itself, Mr.Rex Stout. I don’t own the characters, settings, or any rights related to the Nero Wolfe universe—all credit goes to the original author and rights holders. This video was created purely out of appreciation for the classic detective fiction and to share that love with fellow fans.

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