The Nine Mile Walk Author:Harry Kemelman The Nicky Welt stories: — Nicky Welt is nearly as well known to mystery fans as Mr. Kemelman's other "detective," Rabbi David Small. In a sense," Mr. Kemelman remarks in his introduction, "Rabbi David Small can be said to be the son of Professor Nicholas Welt." — As readers of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine - in which all the stories have appeare... more »d - will know, Nicky Welt is Snowden Professor of English Language and Literature at a small college. The Nicky Welt stories fall into what is commonly called the detection, or puzzle category. Ellery Queen has described them this way: "We think Mr. Kemelman is perpetuating the purest form of the detective story ... with the author playing absolutely fair with the reader from the first word to last."
In the title story, for example, the only information Nicky has to go on is an overheard comment: "A nine mile walk is no joke, especially in the rain." On the basis of this meager information he is able to project the fact that a crime is about to be committed!« less