The Sudoku Puzzle Murders

I love Parnell Hall's wordplay in both his "Puzzle Lady" and "Stanley Hastings" mysteries, and THE SUDOKU PUZZLE MURDERS had me laughing out loud. While certainly the plot is convoluted, it ties up nicely at the end -- I wasn't left with any unanswered questions, or things that didn't make sense. And unlike many mysteries I read, the murderer was not obvious despite the fact that there were few suspects. I do disagree with a previous review that said the two Japanese businessmen were difficult to tell apart. I thought the author made it very clear that no one had trouble telling them apart. The confusion Sherry had in signing the wrong man was simply because at the time no one realized there were two different men trying to sign the Puzzle Lady to a book deal. I highly recommend this light, breezy, fun read.

Finally Cora solves a "paper" puzzle by the numbers and with a little "Oriental" wisdom keeps us wanting more. Parnell Hall's done it again.

While similar to Nero Blanc's Crossword Mysteries (which I haven't read), I took an instant liking to Parnell Hall's Puzzle Lady Mysteries. They are just fun, clever and breezy. I like the characters and the clever dialogue. The plot is convoluted but I try not to dwell on it and just enjoy the book. I can't wait for the next installment. It was glaring the change of format though with the switch of publishers (to St. Martin's Minotaur). I wish the books would just be released in paperback format from the get go because I think it would be more popular. I would recommend the Archie McNally series by Lawrence Sanders if you enjoy fun mysteries.

In Bakerhaven, Connecticut, Cora Felton, the nationally recognized Puzzle lady, is standing in the parking lot when Japanese publisher Hideki Takiyama comes up to her and introduces himself. He says she is famous in Japan and he wants to write a Puzzle Lady Sudoko puzzle book. She refers him to her niece Sherry Carter who negotiates all her contracts. Later Sherry goes to sign a contact only to learn she signed with Hideki's rival Aoki Yoshiaki who is married to the lovely Reiko. Cora is at the sheriff's office when a call comes in that there has been a murder. At the crime scene, Cora sees a man with his face sliced in half and it becomes obvious he was dumped here. They find out he was a private investigator from New York. A few days later, Cora sees Sherry's ex following Aoki and Reiko who are followed by another investigator form New York. The second New York private investigator is found dead very near where his predecessor was dumped with a samurai sward in him. The sheriff asks Cora to help him figure out what is going on; since she loves a puzzle, she agrees to assist him. The fun of the Puzzle Lady mysteries starts and finish with the aptly nicknamed heroine who never takes herself seriously. She is a smart-mouthed sassy broad who does her own thing regardless of what others think. Her antics and asides bring humor into a serious complex whodunit that leaves readers spinning in admiration. Harriet Klausner

The latest chapter in the Puzzle Lady Mystery series is a convoluted, complicated but amusing plot in which Cora Felton proves adept at solving Sudoku puzzles in quick time. The problem is that she is a syndicated newspaper "author" of crossword puzzles and she can't write, much less solve, them. But then, she does assist the chief of police in solving murders and other crimes. In case you don't know what a Sudoku puzzle is, it uses numbers instead of letters in nine squares, each consisting of nine boxes. The spaces have to be filled in with numbers one through nine without conflicting with the same number in another row or column. The book is enhanced with several crossword and Sudoku puzzles created by Will Shortz, the crossword editor of the New York Times. These serve as "clues" in a couple of murders. The book is light and fun to read, and the puzzles (both the mystery and crosswords and Sudokus) more than worth the effort. Recommended.