The Mother Hunt




The Mother Hunt, written in 1963, opens with Lucy Valdon entering the brownstone. She tells Wolfe that someone has left a baby inside of her vestibule. There was a note with the baby that read:

Mrs. Richard Valdon this baby is for you because a boy should live in his fathers house

Mrs Valdon wants Wolfe to find out if the baby was indeed fathered by her recently deceased husband, Richard, and if so, who the mother was. Wolfe starts out by taking a close look at the babies clothing. He, and Archie as well, notice that the buttons on the child's overalls are quite unique. Archie takes the buttons to an expert and finds that they are made from horsehair. The button expert tells Archie that he's never seen horsehair buttons and that they must be quite rare. Wolfe then decided to take out a newspaper ad stating that anyone who knows anything about horsehair buttons should contact him. A one hundred-dollar reward will be paid if the information is deemed acceptable. A woman named Beatrice Epps contacts Archie and tells him that she had seen a woman named Anne Tenzer wearing some horsehair buttons on a blouse. Anne was working temporarily in her office, and she noted them because of their uniqueness. Archie is able to contact Anne through her employment agency. Archie meets with Anne, and Anne tells him that the buttons were made by her aunt, Ellen Tenzer. Archie goes to Ellen's house to talk to her. She lets him in, gives him a drink of water, then gets nervous and throws him out. Archie saw a newspaper in Ellen's kitchen that was open to the newspaper ad that Wolfe had taken out, so he knew that Ellen must know who he was if not who he worked for. Archie leaves to find a phone booth and tell Wolfe about Ellen. Archie goes back to keep an eye on Ellen's house (Saul Panzer is on the way) but by the time he gets back she's gone! So Archie gets in to the house through an open window and look around. He finds a couple pair of the same overalls that the baby was wearing, complete with horsehair buttons. He also finds a baby crib in the basement. Archie decided that the baby must have been there prior to it being dumped in Lucy Valdon's vestibule. Later, Wolfe and Archie find out the Ellen Tenzer has been murdered.

Now the only lead Wolfe and Archie had is dead….and they still don't know who the mother is, let alone who killed Ellen Tenzer. The two must be linked somehow.

Inspector Cramer now gets in the mix when he traces Ellen Tenzer back to Anne Tenzer…..back to Archie and Wolfe. Cramer thinks they know more than they're telling, but for once Wolfe is giving him the straight story. This puts Wolfe in a bad position later on.

I picked my copy up in a used bookstore in Alton, Illinois. Here's a picture:



This book is somewhat notable because Wolfe and Archie are actually chased from the brownstone by Cramer. It is also notable because Archie becomes romantically involved with Lucy Valdon.

Quotes from the book:

Archie, to Lucy Valdon: "Mr. Wolfe has the brains, I only run errands."

Wolfe, to Cramer: "As for your threat to deprive me of my license, I would sleep under a bridge and eat scraps before I would wantonly submit a client to official harassment."

Cramer, back to Wolfe: "You eating scraps. Good God."