Before I Die

A simple favor for a friend leads Archie to a dead body. The friend is arrested but Wolfe suspects the real murderer is still on the loose, though Archie isn't so sure. His investigations take him to the victim's sister, who is willing to go to any length to keep her sibling's transgressions a secret. Only a clever ruse by Wolfe finally flushes out the killer.

When Wolfe realizes his testimony will be used to convict a defendant he believes is innocent, he storms out of the trial in contempt of court. With Archie at his side and Inspector Cramer on his tail, Wolfe's investigation uncovers a complicated blackmail scheme. With the new evidence in hand, Wolfe returns to the court, much to the prosecuting attorney's annoyance.

Archie stumbles onto a murder scene while trying to retrieve his raincoat. Not wanting to get involved, he leaves the scene only to discover a black Labrador retriever following him. Wolfe, surprisingly, is taken by the animal and christens him Jet. When Cramer shows up in search of the pet, wolfe gets Archie involved in the investigation in order to keep the dog.

Inspector Cramer arrives with Wolfe's specially-picked corn, fresh from the murder scene of the delivery boy. Archie is the prime suspect in light of his infatuation with a "sweet" young farm girl turned fashion model. Once Wolfe realizes the inconvenience of Archie's potential incarceration, he joins the case, and the two eventually flush out the criminal -- but not before some deadly corn pops in their faces.

A baby is left on a widow's doorstep with a note implying that her late husband had been its father. The widow, Lucy Valdon, hires Wolfe and Archie to find the true mother, but soon the case turns deadly.

A baby is left on a widow's doorstep with a note implying that her late husband had been its father. The widow, Lucy Valdon, hires Wolfe and Archie to find the true mother, but soon the case turns deadly.

Someone's poisoned a lecherous producer during a banquet prepared by Fritz, and Wolfe starts investigating the kitchen before the victim has even stopped breathing. He boils down the pool of suspects to one of five female servers, but it takes a clever ruse to bring the killer out into the open.

After Thomas Yeager hires Archie because he believes he's being followed, he winds up dead at a construction site. Wolfe and Archie's investigations show that the victim had many lovers.

After Thomas Yeager hires Archie because he believes he's being followed, he winds up dead at a construction site. Wolfe and Archie's investigations show that the victim had many lovers.

The gangster Dazy Perrit wants to keep his daughter's identity a secret so he hires a stand in to pose as her. But when the stand in blackmails him, he turns to Wolfe and Archie for help.

After Wolfe turns down a request for help, the man is murdered. More troubling than that is that now Wolfe is the one being threatened. In order to buy some time Wolfe hires a body double, but will that be enough to keep him safe until he finds the killer?

Wolfe and Archie investigate the murder of the Head of the Bureau of Price Regulations, who was about to speak before the National Industry Association.

Wolfe and Archie investigate the murder of the Head of the Bureau of Price Regulations, who was about to speak before the National Industry Association.

Two illegal aliens flee a barbershop when a New York City cop begins asking questions. When the cop turns up dead, Wolfe must clear the two of his murder.

Wolfe is asked to cook his famous baked trout for an oilman and an Eastern European ambassador. But when Archie finds a body in the trout stream, Wolfe must solve the murder first.