The Puzzle Lady vs. the Sudoku Lady

I really like the Puzzle Lady books and own all of them. Although I found this story is convoluted and in spots, somewhat silly, I still enjoyed it. Cora, the Puzzle Lady, is confronted by Minami, the Sudoku Lady. Minami is upset because Cora's sudoku book was out selling her sudoki book in Japan! She has come to America to challenge Cora. A woman has been found dead from a head injury and it has been decided that it was an accident. A rumor has it that she was having an affair. A perfect case! Minami says it was a murder and that she will solve it before Cora does! (Minami says it's always the husband. However, the husband in question was in jail, dead drunk!) A second death occurred, and Minami is arrested for it because a sudoki puzzle was found by the body. Minami is released for lack of any real evidence; she didn't know the woman, and certainly didn't have any reason to kill her. Her niece, who came to America with her, is supposed to keep Minami out of trouble. It's difficult as Minami goes merrily on her way, supremely sure that she is on the track to a solution. Another death, this time of a woman who tried to blackmail several people about the second death. Sudoku and crossword puzzles are used as blackmail letters! Of course, it finally becomes all clear to Cora, and things end well. I didn't like it as much as I have Hall's other Puzzle Lady books, but it's still an entertaining read.

It was good, surprising. I would have liked more of Puzzle Lady's niece, but probably because I can't do Sudoku's.

Cora is shocked when she finds out that Minami shows up in town looking for her. Turns out that Minami is known in Japan as The Sudoku Lady, and one of Cora's Sudoku books has recently topped hers on the best seller list. Then a dead body turns up in town. It looks for all the world like a tragic accident, but Minami insists it was murder and challenges Cora to a race to solve the crime. Then a second body turns up, and Minami is arrested for the crime. What's behind the latest murder spree? Is Minami really guilty? As always, this is a fast passed, fun book. While we weren't quite back in the old patterns of previous books, we were downright close. (Please, make Dennis a victim in the next book!) The book seemed to bog down in the middle with too many scenes of Cora going from person to person and getting frustrated she wasn't learning anything new. But things picked up in the final 100 pages, and the climax was once again over the top, but in a fun way. The solution was logical and not quite out of thin air. And the humor and word play was as constant a part of the book as always. While not the best entry in the series, this book will certainly entertain the many fans of the series.

In Japan, Minami "the Sudoku Lady" is shocked when an American pushes past her to number one on her country's bestseller list. Stunned and ashamed by this dishonor that that some ancient New England crone Cora "The Puzzle Lady" Felton has moved ahead of her, Minami accompanied by her teenage niece Michiko comes to Bakerhaven, Connecticut to challenge the foreign upstart in a puzzler's duel. Minami is unaware that Cora is the front for her shy recently married niece Sherry Carter who creates the crossword and sudoku puzzles. Cora as the Wicked Witch of the West wants to ignore the Japanese diva, but Sherry persuades her otherwise. However, before the duel between the Japanese puzzle champion and her American rival can occur, Police Chief Harper informs the aunt and niece that Mrs. Ida Fielding was murdered, but not by her spouse who was in jail sleeping off a drunken binge and no puzzles to assist on the investigation. Harper wants Cora to help anyway because she is very good at finding clues. Minami sees them and follows them. As the two puzzle-makers compete, Minami is arrested for murder so her books move back to number one while Cora and Sherry try to prove the visitor is innocent and Michiko asks them to take their time so she can go mall shopping without adult supervision. The latest Puzzle Lady tale is the usual enjoyable lighthearted whodunit in which the mystery takes a back seat to the cast. This time the aunt-niece relationship is double the fun as the Japanese equivalent to the Connecticut Yanks invades New England. With several Will Shortz sudoku and crossword puzzles included, readers who enjoy a fluffy entertaining cozy will want to watch the battle of the puzzle warriors with their nieces as their squires. Harriet Klausner