With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill

I enjoyed this mystery about a double wedding that never happens. I liked the short chapters and wanted to finish it to find out the murderer and connect all the characters. Very easy reading and can finish in a couple of hours. Will read more mysteries by this author.

Cora Felton is getting married. Again. She may have lost track of how many times she's walked down the aisle, but this time it will work out. Really. Her niece Sherry Carter isn't happy about the arrangement, convinced that her aunt is making a mistake again. Unfortunately, Cora's nuptials aren't the only ones pending. Sherry's best friend has just announced her engagement - to Sherry's abusive ex Dennis. Between the two weddings, there was enough drama even before the first cryptogram shows up. It's a warning to Cora to abandon her plans to wed. More and more follow before the first dead body appears. Now Cora needs to set aside her wedding veil and pick up her sleuthing hat to find the cryptic killer. Can she succeed? If you are a fan of the series, you'll be pleased to know that this book has more of what you love. The characters are sharp, the puzzles clever, and the mystery baffling. There are even a few scenes of word play that had me laughing. Unfortunately, the ending is once again too abrupt. Several of the important clues are sprung on us as Cora is explaining events. That's not to say the ending isn't satisfying or logical. I just wish the clues were planted better earlier in the book. A weak ending is hardly a reason to pass on this fun series. I enjoy spending time with this feisty old lady and look forward to many more puzzling adventures to come.

This is a delightful book, upbeat and fun. The main characters are Sherry Carter and her beloved aunt, Cora Felton. As with all the author's books, it is heavy on witty repartee between characters, most notably, Sherry and her aunt. Sherry is a crossword puzzle maker and solver, but it's her aunt who always solves the crimes. While Cora can figure out whodunit, she can never settle on a man, being the sometime drinker, smoker and carouser that she is. In this book of the series, marriage is on the horizon again with a man from out of town, while her niece Sherry tries to help her fast-living aunt decide if she isn't just rushing into things a little too quickly again. Sherry has her own share of male trouble when her conniving ex comes back to torment her by getting engaged to Sherry's best friend from college. A double wedding looms as Cora receives threats to ditch her fiance in the form of cyphers. Cora decyphers the clues with, ahem, a little help from her niece. Something's gotta give...The bottom line is, two wacky cruciverbalists out to save the day.

Sherry Carter is the real puzzle lady who constructs them for a syndicated column but because she is so shy, everyone thinks her aunt Cara Felton is the puzzle maker because she takes the credit and makes public appearances. The truth of the matter is she couldn?t solve a crossword puzzle let alone construct one but she is very good at solving homicides.Murder is the last thing from Cora?s mind as she gets ready to marry California businessman Raymond Harstein III but Sherry is frantic because she knows nothing about the man. Matters become much worse when Sherry?s best friend announces she is marrying Sherry?s physically abusive ex-husband Dennis and they want her to be the maid of honor. A series of cryptograms threatens Raymond if the wedding isn?t stopped. When the messages are ignored he is murder with Dennis charged for the crime. Cora is positive Dennis didn?t kill anyone and she sets out to prove it to make sure Sherry doesn?t soften towards him and to get her mind off her own grief.WITH THIS PUZZLE I THEE KILL is the best book in the series because there are two separate, fulfilling sub-plots and the antagonist from either one could be the killer. Parnell Hall has a wicked sense of humor and it comes out through the dialogues of his characters, especially conversations that take place between Cora and her niece. This amateur sleuth novel will be a thrill for those who like a cerebral puzzle.Harriet Klausner