A Clue for the Puzzle Lady

Cora Felton, the famed puzzle lady, and her niece Sherry Carter are hoping the nice quite life in the country will keep them in relative obscurity. But when a body turns up with what the police chief thinks is a crossword puzzle clue, they are suddenly thrust into the limelight. Did the killer leave behind a crossword puzzle clue? What does it mean? And how could it possibly lead to the killer? I bought this book a couple years back after hearing the author speak, but then started hearing rumors about Cora. I thought I might be put off by the fact that she is a chain smoking alcoholic. While that did bother me, I couldn't help falling in love with all the characters in this book. I've heard in later books that aspect of her character is dropped, and I'll certainly look forward to that. In the mean time, I found her a fun character I could root for. My other problem with the book was the constant use of characters full names. Almost every time a new paragraph started, the author felt the need to refer to Sherry Carter or Cora Felton or who ever the current character was. That got very annoying in a hurry. Still, this book provided a great puzzle I had a hard time putting down. Nothing made sense until the end when everything falls into logical place. The author spent the majority of the time with four of the characters, and the multiple viewpoints worked well to tell the story and build suspense at the end. As I said, I really liked all four of the characters, and I'm looking forward to seeing them again in the next book. Another aspect I enjoyed was the word play between characters, especially Sherry and newspaper reporter Aaron Grant. Fans of crossword puzzles will enjoy the puzzle at the beginning of the book. There is a solution in the back for those like me who get stuck easily. Just a word of warning, the puzzle is meant to be solved after the book is read since some of the clues have to do with the plot of the book and therefore could spoil it for you. While this book has some serious flaws that will turn others off, I found the plot and characters engaging enough I could over look them. I will certainly be back to visit the cozy town of Bakerhaven.

If you're looking for a clever and amusing page turner, with crazy twists, and unusual characters, set in a contemporary Connecticut town, look no further! Though crossword buffs may be slightly disappointed, anyone else will surely enjoy this clever and well done romp! With a hard drinking aunt, her sassy good looking niece, and a group of characters that seem almost like you're met most of them, you can't go wrong! Plus some nice scenes in the cemetary, at the local pub, and driving around town! It may not be great literature, but it's surely top drawer, and amusing, detective fiction!

A CLUE FOR THE PUZZLE LADY is a terrific book--wonderful plot complete with crossword puzzle clues, red herrings, and all sorts of twists and turns; fun and eccentric characters who are a hoot without going over the edge into unbelievability; snappy dialogue; great writing style. I couldn't put it down.

This book was a very fast read. You can't help but feel a part of Bakerhaven, the small Connecticut town while trying to figure out 'who done it.' It would be an unfair tease to give you tidbits of why the plot twists, general prose and sequencing work so well, so I won't. It's too bad that the second book in the series won't be available for almost another year. I can't wait to see what happens to Cora and Sherry in Parnell Hall's next book. If his follow up novel is as enthralling as "A Clue for the Puzzle Lady", there should be many more books in the series to look forward to.

As the author of "The Crossword Murder" I had to snap up this book the moment I heard of it. I've always been a big Parnell Hall fan, and he doesn't let the reader down for one second with "A Clue for the Puzzle Lady". A super mystery and fabulous characters; and as a crossword puzzle creator, this book was right up my alley. Bravo, Parnell!