Robert Goldsborough Books In Order

Publication Order of Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Robert Goldsborough Books

Publication Order of Snap Malek Mystery Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

There is a laundry list of mystery writers in the world. Even then very few of them can wipe slime from Robert Goldsborough’s boots. Whether crafting literary pastiches or charting his own writing style, the literary works of Robert Goldsborough and his signature style makes him stick out like a sore thumb.

Read on this mind-blowing biography which has made him the cream of the crop thanks to his finesse of decades of writing experience.

Robert Goldsborough’s Early Life; Journalism Background
Robert Goldsborough, born in late 1937, was born and bred in Chicago and Illinois, respectively. He is a York High School alumnus and pursued his graduate and postgraduate studies in The Medill School of Journalism, an established constituent associated with Northwestern University. He has been a journalist with various high profile news agencies. No doubt his education background and working experience has tremendously augured well for his literary ambition.

For his considerable effort at advancing Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series following his death, The Wolfe Pack (a literary society) awarded Goldsborough the coveted Nero Award. This was shortly after the first continuation of the series was published. In 2012, he was also awarded Lovey Award because a book in the Snap Malek series.

Precocious Bibliophile
The septuagenarian might have debuted later on in his adulthood to critical acclaim. If you put the rave reviews aside and soberly reflect on his teenage, you will realize that he is a dyed-in-the-wool writer. Why, he was an avid reader in his formative years! He is an experienced reader, though the preference is probably circumstantial.

Seemingly, Robert Goldsborough was lazing about and possibly treading water when his mother, Wilma Janak Goldsborough, suggested that he read a story serialized in a magazine. His mother unknowingly helped him kick-start a reading habit which would transcend schooling days. It is when reading the serialized stories that he chanced upon the famous Nero Wolfe detective series authored by Rex Todhunter Stout and, as he soberly pipes, the series was a page-turner. He was so committed to reading such that he read the over seventy mystery series featuring detective Nero Wolfe.

Filling Rex Stout’s Shoes
Robert Goldsborough and his mother were die-hard fans of author Rex Stout. When Stout died and Wilma Goldsborough read Stout’s obituary, Robert Goldsborough’s mother was chagrined and wished she could read more of Nero Wolfe mystery series. By then Robert Goldsborough hinted to her that there most likely would be a continuation to the series; shortly thereafter, he surprised her with a Nero Wolfe book he had been writing.

Robert Goldsborough’s request to publish the book was granted; so the book, titled “Murder in E Minor” and published in 1986 by Bantam Books to rave reviews, became the launch pad to a lifelong writing career. Robert Goldsborough breathed new life into the Nero Wolfe mystery series and has penned and still continues to produce many titles whose story revolves around Nero Wolfe. Incidentally, his quest for continuing the mystery series made him achieve prominence and he stole the limelight. Even then Goldsborough knew that it was merely pastiches of another established writer and that he was, alas, like a ghostwriter who self-commissioned himself to advance the Nero Wolfe series.

In this context, the urge to write his own mystery series from scratch gnawed at him. Thus his own mystery series, aptly titled Snap Malek, was conceived. In this series, Robert Goldsborough has several books under his belt.

Two Early Books in the Snap Malek Mystery Series
It is worth noting that, in the literal sense, the first two books in a series that Robert Goldsborough wrote are “Murder in E Minor” and “Death on Deadline”. However, the two books are under Nero Wolfe mystery series which is not his own. As such, we will overlook these me-too versions and focus on the Snap Malek series.

The first two books in the Snap Malek series by Robert Goldsborough, therefore, are “Three Strikes You’re Dead” and “Shadow of the Bomb”, respectively. “Three Strikes You’re Dead” was published in early 2005 by Echelon Press. The same publishing house also published “Shadow of the Bomb” the following year.

The two books revolve around Steve Malek, a nosy and old school police reporter working for the Chicago Tribune newspaper in pre-World War II Chicago, America and in the wake of the Great Depression. In “Three Strikes You’re Dead”, the pin that bursts the balloon is the suspicious death of a prospective mayor. Steve Malek embarks on a no-holds-barred mission to seek the truth. But Malek’s scope of investigation not only irks his editor but also goes too far and Malek soon finds himself up to his eyeballs with crucial leads concerning his investigation into the apparent murder.

Malek’s quest for unveiling the truth overrides his concern for his safety. Malek’s travails, which bring out his adamant trait and paint him as a risk-taking high achiever, he chances upon several figures. They are Helena Hayes, a notable actress; Richard Daley, a politician who would later on become Chicago mayor; Al Capone, the notorious Chicago-based gangster and mafia don; and Dizzy Dean, the famous baseball player newly signed by the Chicago Cubs.

In the “Shadow of the Bomb”, the plot revolves around the participation albeit with significant losses by American forces in foreign wars, especially the army in Southeast Asia. Worse still, there is the surprise military attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces. In its relentless quest to become a superior military force and reinstate its superpower position, a team lead by physicist Enrico Fermi and working from the University of Chicago, develops a weapon . However, evil-minded plotters enter the scene, things go terribly wrong and people turn up dead.

It is business as usual in an unused football field when reporter Steve Malek, attached to the Chicago Tribune, starts investigating. But he seemingly has underestimated his targets and is constantly looking over his shoulder while unraveling an event that will rewrite history.

Based on these two books by Robert Goldsborough, it is evident that the author uses both the biographical and autobiographical method in his work. A notable aspect in his literary works is his constant reference of the Chicago Tribune where he has worked for a long time and the use of real-life personalities and public figures as his characters.

TV Shows and Movies
At this moment, Robert Goldsborough’s literary works have not been made into TV shows and movies. However, the Nero Wolfe mystery series that he continued (excluding his continuations), has been turned into films; the Nero Wolfe series per se has a considerable number of episodes.

3 Responses to “Robert Goldsborough”

1. Bill Burns: 2 years ago

   Why can I not find ‘Stairway to Nowhere’ or mention of Snap Malek in the Kindle store?

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     Looks like it was only released physically.

     Reply
2. William H Rhea: 2 years ago

   When is the next Nero Wolfe book coming out AND will we see anymore Snap Malek books. I love all of your books!!!

   Reply