. In 1929, he wrote his first published book, "How Like a God", an unusual psychological story written in the second person. He wrote a pioneering political thriller, "The President Vanishes" (1934), before he turned to writing detective fiction. His 1934 novel "Fer-de-Lance" introduced his best-known characters, detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and 39 novellas and short stories between 1934 and 1975