Customer Reviews

A Clue for the Puzzle Lady (Puzzle Lady Mysteries)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Sherry Carter and her photogenic aunt Cora--a.k.a. the Puzzle Lady, the eponymous mistress of a syndicated newspaper column for puzzle lovers--are new to Bakerhaven, Connecticut, but they've moved in just in time. The small town's police force is not accustomed to murder investigations, and when a young woman turns up dead in the cemetery with what appears to be a crossword clue in her pocket, the police chief naturally turns to the town's resident cruciverbalist for expert opinion. He gets more than he bargains for, as the bibulous Cora is eager to investigate the case herself.

Parnell Hall's A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, the first in a series of Puzzle Lady mysteries, is well worth the read. The cozy novel offers a decent mystery that should keep readers guessing (assuming they don't make the mistake of completing the crossword puzzle that accompanies the text prior to reading the book!), as well as a number of likeable secondary characters and, most importantly, an unusual and comic relationship between the book's protagonists, the "Puzzle Lady" and her often exasperated and always linguistically adept niece.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

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!

I enjoy crossword puzzles as well as mysteries, and looked forward to reading this one. The characters were not what I expected, which made the reading more fun. Although I guessed at some of the secrets of the book, I did not figure out "who done it". The ending was very believable and a satisfactory solution. And I was interested enough in the characters that I look forward to reading the next one.

I'm a huge murder mystery fan, so I was excited to read this book. The premise sounded good, but a few chapters into the book I wasn't hooked. I read all the way to the half way point of the book and just couldn't finish it.

There were pages where nothing happened. But the most annoying part to me was how the author keeps referring to the main character and other characters by their entire names throughout the book (well, as much of it as I read) I think an introduction of the characters full names once is enough. I don't need to read how 'Cora Felton' did this and 'Cora Felton' did that. I think that is what turned me off the most. Every time I would read an entire name, I would mentally roll my eyes. I wouldn't recommend this book.

This title got my attention right away but I was soon disappointed in the slow pace. The Puzzle Lady herself is a lush and her neice seems to be the one doing all the work. I was looking forward to being introduced to a great new character and instead I did'nt care much for her and liked her neice even less.All I felt was pity for the inept police chief. This book had great potential but unfortunetly it's never lived up to.

I love crossword puzzles and I love books, so when I saw this book I knew it was for me. What a disappointment! The characters were weak and their conversations went on and on without much being said. Cora, who is know as the puzzle lady, is a drunk and knows nothing about puzzles. I only finished the book because I truly wanted it to get better - it didn't. The concept of tying a crossword puzzle to a mystery is good, but it didn't work here.