The Crossword Connection

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P.I. Rosco Polycrates is marrying crossword editor Belle Graham. Before their marriage, a homeless man is found dead with a crossword puzzle under him. He was hit in the head with a stone and has dog food in his pocket. The police think he had turned to eating dog food. Rosco knows him and that he had a puppy. Sara, a matriarch in the community, asks Rosco to begin looking for the puppy. Then a homeless woman is found dead also with a crossword puzzle under her. They try to find the connection between the two. Rosco goes missing. Belle starts receiving anonymous crossword puzzles with clues. Lieutenant Al Lever, Rosco's former partner, tries to keep Belle safe and find Rosco. But, Belle keeps alluding him as she is trying to follow the clues and find Rosco herself. She is constantly reminded to not include the police. There are many twists before you get to the end. This is a very enjoyable series. I enjoy trying to complete the crosswords even though I am not very good at them. There are always clues in them. I like when Belle tries to complete the crosswords and gives some of the crossword answers in the book. The characters are very believable and well developed. Rosco is believable as a P.I. He used to be a detective so he has connections in the police department. I like the character Carlyle who is the medical examiner. He and Rosco do not get along but he likes Belle. Recently we vacationed in New England so I like books set in New England. I feel the plot is very well developed and the setting is very realistic. I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

P.I. Rosco and crossword editor Belle are an unlikely team, combining puzzles and crime solving with the uncertainties of married life and danger. In Nero Blanc's Crossword Connection, it's a crossword puzzle that holds the key to a series of deaths in a riveting and recomended mystery.

In Newcastle, the Massachusetts Evening Crier crossword editor Belle Graham and private investigator Roscoe Polycrates are getting married at sea quite soon. However, the final steps to matrimony have problems as the reception area is not quite ready and someone murders a homeless person, apparently leaving a crossword puzzle behind with the corpse. Belle wonders if the murder is tied into the effort to close a successful shelter located on choice realty.When a second person dies also with a crossword puzzle nearby, Roscoe thinks solving the puzzle clues will lead to resolving the two homicides. Belle thinks Roscoe suffers from premarital jitters. However, when Roscoe seemingly vanishes, Belle looks at the puzzles to ascertain whether the answers to the murders and her missing fiance lie within them.The third Crossword mystery retains the uniqueness of its two predecessors (see TWO DOWN and THE CROSSWORD MURDERS). The story line is fresh with the puzzles serving as an intricate part of the amateur sleuth inquiry. Roscoe and Belle seem more like neighbors and the secondary cast such as Roscoe's police pal Lever adds depth. Though the crossword puzzles left at the crime scene seems a bit stretched, fans will ignore that, solve the puzzles, and ultimately the case in an enjoyable interactive who-done- it.Harriet Klausner