This excellent A&E series should please Rex Stout fans. Though the plots are often intricate, the real focus is on the interplay between the main characters, the colorful 1940-50 settings, and frequent use of humor. It has the stylistic appeal of such British productions as "Sherlock Holmes" and "Poirot" or American ones like "Perry Mason" and "Columbo". Perhaps not appealing to all tastes, but the show will be fun for certain mystery buffs.