Orchid Day: Orchids in Mysteries and More!

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you know I post a flower photo every day, usually with the subject line "Behind my Garden Gate." I grow lots of roses (over 125 varieties), but I also cultivate orchids. Yesterday was National Orchid Day, so I thought I'd talk about orchids and mysteries, with some personal anecdotes.

My outdoor orchids, cymbidiums, need to be divided in a specific way. Every time I start the procedure of hacking away at the roots (yes, hacking with a knife cleaned with a blowtorch), I think about rainforests and the quest for rare orchids. I’ve always been fascinated by orchids. When I was growing up, Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter, was my favorite comic strip. I wanted to be just like Brenda – an intrepid reporter traveling the globe in search of the story. Brenda Starr, the liberated, career-action reporter, was definitely my role model. Of course, my fantasy included a romantic Brazilian mystery man like Basil St. John who was always searching for a rare black orchid. Dale Messick’s original Brenda Starr comic strip that I followed in the Philadelphia Bulletin was full of romance, mystery, and exotic black orchids.

So today, splitting my orchids is actually a sojourn into my past. I’m sure it was because of my very close ‘personal’ ties with Brenda Starr that I represented Brazil in the model U.N. when I was in high school, and much later I chose Brazil for one of my Fulbright Fellowships. During my time in Brazil, I even managed to go up the Amazon into Basil’s rain forest, and although I did see a lot of orchids, none were black—and Basil was nowhere to be found.

What Is a Black Orchid? Does the Black Orchid really exist? Where is the Black Orchid found? These questions and others have fascinated orchid enthusiasts for centuries, and orchid growers have been trying to grow this magical, mysterious black colored orchid for ages, too, but this still seems to be a mythical plant. All the hard work by hybridization specialists has been in vain and the search for the Black Orchid continues. Personally I grow a lot of varieties of orchids, but none are black. I guess I’ll just continue my search through mystery fiction, and sometimes while on holiday in tropical rainforests.

So since today is National Orchid Day, I thought I'd post a list about mystery and orchids and rainforests. I’m a big list-maker, and orchids play an important part in mystery fiction including the well known Rex Stout Nero Wolfe series which feature Nero's love of orchids. He has a greenhouse filled with orchids. Stout's Black Orchids is one of my favorite titles. Other orchid mystery titles (fiction and non-fiction and a few out of the normal mystery realm) include:

ORCHID MYSTERIES:

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Mayhem on the Orchid Isle; Something's Rotten in Paradise by Aysia Amery

The Orchids of Ashthorne Hall by Rebecca Anderson

Black Orchid Girls by Carolyn Arnold
The Black Orchid by Annis Bell

No Orchids for Miss Blandish; The Flesh of the Orchid by James Hadley Chase
The Orchid Tatto by Carla Damron

The Mystery of The Three Orchids by Augusto De Angelis
Poison Orchids by Sarah A. Denzil & Anni Taylor

The Cloud Garden by Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder
Moonraker by Ian Fleming 
Orchids to Murder by Hulbert Footner
The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman
Black Orchid by Vaughn C. Hardacker
Black Orchid by Steve Hawk
Beware the Orchids by Cynthia Hickey
Hidden: A Bloom in Waiting by Pyper James
The Emerald Cathedral R.H. Jones
Murder, Local Style by Leslie Karst

The Orchid Thief by Carolyn Keene (a Nancy Drew Mystery)

The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman
The Retired Assassin's Guide to Orchid Hunting by Naomi Kuttner
The Orchid Eater by Marc Laidlaw

The Orchid Mystery by Nancy L. Mangan

Killer-Orchid by K.T. McCall
Black Orchid by Dave McKean
Orchid Blue by Eoin McNamee
Blood Orchids by Toby Neal 
The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
The Scent of Scandal: Greed, Betrayal and the World's Most Beautiful Orchid by Craig Pittman (non-fiction)
Orchids and Stone by Lisa Preston

Tigerlily's Orchids by Ruth Rendell
The Cranefly Orchid Murders by Cynthia Riggs
Death in the Orchid Garden;  Death at the Spring Plant Sale by Ann Ripley
Blood on the Orchids by Jill Steele

Black Orchids (and other titles) by Rex Stout
The Ghost Orchid Murder by Nancy Jill Thames
Black Orchid Blues by Persia Walker

Death of an Orchid Lover by Nathan Walpow
Deadly Slipper, The Orchid Shroud, Death in the Dordogne; Kill for an Orchid; A Twist of Orchids by Michelle Wan 

Orchid Blues/ Hothouse Orchid by Stuart Woods

The Black Orchid by Loretta Anne White

Dream of Orchids by Phyllis A. Whitney
Spirit in the Rainforest by Eric Wilson

So there you have it: Mysteries and Orchids. As always, let me know if I've missed one of your favorites Orchid Mystery titles.

Orchids: Behind my Garden Gate

THE WOLFE PACK AWARDS 2024: Nero Award and Black Orchid Novella Award

The Wolfe Pack announced the Nero Award for the best American Mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories: 

Ariel Lawhon: The Frozen River. 

The Black Orchid Novella Award, presented jointly by The Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, celebrates the novella format popularized by Stout:

T. M. Bradshaw: "Double Take." It will be published in the July 2025 issue of AHMM. 

Honorable mentions for the Black Orchid Novella Award include Peter Hoppock's "Precipice"; Andrew Kass's "Deadline"; Jenny Ramaley's "Workplace Rules for a Fire-Breathing Dragon"; and Ella Rutledge's "Murder at the Y.T.D."

***

 HT: In Reference to Murder

NERO & BLACK ORCHID NOVELLA AWARD WINNERS 2021

The Wolfe Pack announced the Nero Award and the Black Orchid Novella Award for 2021 during the Black Orchid Banquet in NYC on December 4. Congratulations.

NERO AWARD WINNER

Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood.

The Nero is presented annually by the fan organization The Wolfe Pack to “the best American mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories.

BLACK ORCHID NOVELLA AWARD WINNER

"The Man Who Went Down Under," by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson; published i July 2022 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Magazine.

The Black Orchid is sponsored jointly by The Wolfe Pack and AHMM and honors the novella format popularized by Stout.

HT: The Rap Sheet

The Wolfe Pack: The Nero & Black Orchid Awards

Thanks to The Rap Sheet and The Gumshoe Site for the notice about the winner of the Nero Wolfe Award. I haven't seen a list, though, of all the nominees. If you know the other nominees, please let me know, and I'll update this post. Thanks.

The Nero Award is sponsored by The Wolfe Pack, the official Nero Wolfe society, named after the fictional character in the mystery series by Rex Stout. The Nero Award is presented annually for the best American mystery. The award is given to those books that are written in the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories.

NERO AWARD

One Good Dead by David Baldacci

BLACK ORCHID NOVELLA AWARD (given jointly with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)

"El Cuerpo en el Barril ("The Body in the Barrel") by Tom Larsen. 

ORCHIDS & MYSTERY: National Orchid Day

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you know I post a flower photo every day, usually with the title "Behind my Garden Gate." I grow lots of roses (over 125 varieties), but I also grow orchids. My outdoor orchids--cymbidiums, need to be divided in a specific way.

Every time I start the procedure of hacking away at the roots (yes, hacking with a knife cleaned with a blowtorch), I think about rainforests and the quest for rare orchids. I’ve always been fascinated with orchids. When I was growing up, Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter, was my favorite comic strip. I wanted to be just like Brenda – the intrepid reporter traveling the globe in search of the story. Brenda Starr, the liberated, career-action reporter, was definitely my role model. Of course, my fantasy included a romantic Brazilian mystery man like Basil St. John who was always searching for the rare black orchid. Dale Messick’s original Brenda Starr comic strip that I followed in the Philadelphia Bulletin was full of romance, mystery, and exotic black orchids.

So splitting my orchids is actually a sojourn into my past. I’m sure it was because of my very close ‘personal’ ties with Brenda Starr that I represented Brazil in the model U.N. when I was in high school, and much later I chose to travel to Brazil for a Fulbright. During that time I even managed to go up the Amazon into Basil’s rain forest, and although I did see a lot of orchids, none were black—and Basil was nowhere to be found.

What Is a Black Orchid? Does the Black Orchid really exist? Where is the Black Orchid found? These questions and others have fascinated orchid enthusiasts for centuries, and orchid growers have been trying to grow this magical, mysterious black colored orchid for ages, too, but this still seems to be a mythical plant. All the hard work by hybridization specialists has been in vain and the search for the Black Orchid continues. I grow a lot of varieties of orchids, but none are black. I guess I’ll just continue my personal search through mystery fiction, and sometimes while on holiday in tropical rainforests.

So since today is National Orchid Day, I thought I'd post about mystery and orchids and rainforests. I’m a big list-maker, and orchids play an important part in mystery fiction starting with Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe and his love of orchids. Stout's Black Orchids is one of my favorite titles. Other orchid mystery titles (fiction and non-fiction and a few out of the normal mystery realm) include:

ORCHIDS:

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Mayhem on the Orchid Isle; Something's Rotten in Paradise by Aysia Amery
The Black Orchid by Annis Bell
No Orchids for Miss Blandish by James Hadley Chase
The Cloud Garden by Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder
Moonraker by Ian Fleming 
Orchids to Murder by Hulbert Fottner
The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman
Black Orchid by Vaughn C. Hardacker
Black Orchid by Steve Hawk
Beware the Orchids by Cynthia Hickey
Hidden: A Bloom in Waiting by Pyper James
The Emerald Cathedral R.H. Jones
The Orchid Thief by Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew)
Killer-Orchid by K.T. McCall
Black Orchid by Dave McKean
Blood Orchids by Toby Neal 
The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
The Scent of Scandal: Greed, Betrayal and the World's Most Beautiful Orchid by Craig Pittman
Tigerlily's Orchids by Ruth Rendell
The Cranefly Orchid Murders by Cynthia Riggs
Death in the Orchid Garden;  Death at the Spring Plant Sale by Ann Ripley
The Case of the Black Orchids (and other titles) by Rex Stout
The Ghost Orchid Murder by Nancy Jill Thames
Black Orchid Blues by Persia Walker
Deadly Slipper, The Orchid Shroud, Death in the Dordogne by Michelle Wan 
Death of an Orchid Lover by Nathan Walpow
Dream of Orchids by Phyllis A. Whitney

Spirit in the Rainforest by Eric Wilson

So there you have it: Mysteries and Orchids. As always, let me know if I've missed a title.

Orchids: Behind my Garden Gate

Nero Award Winner

The Wolfe Pack announced the Nero Award Winner for 2018.

The "Nero" is an annual award presented to an author for literary excellence in the mystery genre. The award was presented last night at the Black Orchid Banquet in New York City.

NERO AWARD WINNER
August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones (Soho)

2017 Nero Award

The Nero Award is presented each year to an author for the best American Mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories.

It was presented by The Wolfe Pack this past weekend at the Black Orchid Banquet in New York City. The "Nero" is considered one of the premier awards granted to authors of crime fiction.

This year's winner is Al Lamanda for With 6 You Get Wally (Five Star).

About the Wolfe Pack

The Wolfe Pack, founded in 1977, is a forum to discuss, explore, and enjoy the 72 Nero Wolfe books and novellas written by Rex Stout. The organization promotes fellowship and extends friendship to those who enjoy these great literary works of mystery through a series of events, book discussions, and a journal devoted to the study of the genius detective, Nero Wolfe, and his intrepid assistant, Archie Goodwin. The organization has more than 500 members worldwide. For further information, please see www.nerowolfe.org.

2012 Nero Award Finalists

The Nero Award is presented by the Wolfe Pack each year to an author for the best mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories. It is presented at the Black Orchid Banquet, traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City. The Nero Award celebrates literary excellence in the mystery genre. 

Finalists:

Guilt by Association, Marcia Clark
The Silent Girl, Tess Gerritsen
The House of Silk, Anthony Horowitz
Spiral, Paul McEuen
Though Not Dead, Dana Stabenow
Black Orchid Blues, Persia Walker

Congratulations to all!

About the Wolfe Pack
The Wolfe Pack, founded in 1977, is a forum to discuss, explore, and enjoy the 72 Nero Wolfe books and novellas written by Rex Stout. The organization promotes fellowship and extends friendship to those who enjoy these great literary works of mystery through a series of events, book discussions, and a journal devoted to the study of the genius detective, Nero Wolfe, and his intrepid assistant, Archie Goodwin. The organization has more than 450 members worldwide.

To learn more, visit www.nerowolfe.org

Nero Wolfe at Bouchercon 2009

Bouchercon, the World Mystery convention, will convene October 15-18 in Indianapolis, IN, this year. I'll be there, and I'll be presenting the Macavity Awards. Don't have a date or time for that yet, but stay tuned.

Bouchercon Guest of Honor: Michael Connelly. Toastmaster: S.J. Rozan. Honored Youth Author: Wendelin Van Draanen. Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: Allen J. Hubin. Fan Guest of Honor: Kathryn Kennison.

Jim Huang, Chair of Bouchercon, sent a note about a very special program at this year's B'con. Bouchercon 2009 will be honoring Hoosier native Rex Stout by designating one of his Nero Wolfe novels as the "One Conference, One Book" selection.

This is an anniversary year for the Nero Wolfe series. Fer de Lance launched the series 75 years ago. Next month the B'con committee will be mailing to everyone registered for Bouchercon a copy of the selection, and the committee will be building a variety of programs around the book throughout the convention. In addition, there will be a Rex Stout banquet on Friday evening during Bouchercon, an over-the-top elaborate meal based on Too Many Cooks.

In July, the committee will conduct sign-ups for some special program sessions that will have limited capacity -- ticketed, free events. Register now in order to have first shot at these
opportunities. The committee has already begun to accept reservations for a complimentary tea for librarians, hosted by Sisters in Crime.

If you're an author who's not yet registered, sign up right away in order to have your picture and bio in the program book. Send your .jpeg and bio to: dun46032@aol.com now.

B O U C H E R C O N 2 0 0 9: Elementary, My Dear Indy!

2008 Nero Award Goes to Jonathan Santlofer

Last night the Wolfe Pack presented the Nero Award to Jonathan Santlofer for Anatomy of Fear (William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers). The Nero Award is presented each year to an author for the best American Mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Stories. It was presented at the Black Orchid Banquet in New York City.

The Black Orchid Novella Award is presented jointly by The Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine to celebrate the Novella format popularized by Rex Stout. This year's winner is Michael Nethercott for O'NELLIGAN'S GLORY.

The Wolfe Pack, founded in 1977, is a forum to discuss, explore, and enjoy the 72 Nero Wolfe books and novellas written by Rex Stout. The organization promotes fellowship and extends friendship to those who enjoy these great literary works of mystery through a series of events, book discussions, and a journal devoted to the study of the genius detective, Nero Wolfe, and his intrepid assistant, Archie Goodwin. The organization has 450 members worldwide.

Congratulations, Jonathan!!!