The Crossword Connection [Paperback]

Nero Blanc (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2002

P.I. Rosco Polycrates and crossword editor Belle Graham are back for more puzzle and crime solving. This time they discover the ups and downs of married life-and death.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The pseudonymous Blanc (husband-and-wife writing team Steve Zettler and Cordelia Frances Biddle) has constructed another neat whodunit, along with some clever crosswords, in this third outing (after The Crossword Murder and Two Down). Crossword creator Belle Graham is happily anticipating her upcoming nuptials to private investigator Rosco Polycrates when the murder of a homeless man in an alley in Newcastle, Mass., threatens to derail those plans. Is the murder part of a plot designed to shut down a homeless shelter so that developers can take over the property? And what happened to the puppy the murder victim had recently adopted? Local grande dame Sara Crane Briephs hires Rosco to find the missing pup, giving him a legitimate reason (other than sheer nosiness) to be involved in the case. The situation turns uglier when a second murder occurs. Soon Rosco disappears, and Belle receives odd and threatening messages in the form of devilishly contrived crossword clues, which she thinks are coming from the kidnapper. Can Rosco's former partner, Lieutenant Al Lever, find him in time for the wedding to go ahead as planned? Though only the two main characters are much more than genial stereotypes, Blanc builds the suspense slowly and surely, challenging the reader with a dandy puzzler.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A puzzle lover's delight...A touch of suspense, a pinch of romance, and a whole lot of clever word clues. -- Earlene Fowler, author of Seven Sisters

Addicts of crossword puzzles will relish The Crossword Murder. -- Chicago Sun-Times

Evoe! At last, puzzle fans have their revenge...super sleuthing and solving for puzzle lovers and mystery fans. -- Charles Preston, Puzzle Editor, USA Today --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Reprint edition (August 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425185796
• ISBN-13: 978-0425185797
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #708,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Crosswords, yes, but NO Connection, April 15, 2002

By 

Annag Chandler "Crane & Dragon" (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crossword Connection (Crossword Mysteries) (Paperback)

Following on the heels of other mystery writers who run out of ideas before their publishers stop paying advances (Rita Mae Brown's Harry Haristeen series, for example), the husband and wife team of Nero Blanc have turned in a third episode in their series. The characters are okay, but most of the book is taken up with a nonsensical diversion that has nothing to do with the real murders and the actual solution comes out of left field, which to me is the cardinal sin of mysteries. If crosswords are your thing, I'd go for the first couple of books in the Puzzle Lady sequence by Parnell Hall, instead.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars mediocre mystery with a fun gimmick, October 9, 2001

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Crossword Connection (Crossword Mysteries) (Paperback)

I really enjoy mysteries with gimmicks -- recipes, unusual settings, etc. -- and this novel, the third in a series by a husband and wife team writing under the name Nero Blanc, seemed like a natural for me since I enjoy crossword puzzles.

While the premise was fun and the six crosswords were okay, I thought the mystery was mediocre and the writing seemed lazy, relying on stereotypes as characters and repetitive (and rather unbelievable) plot devices. For instance the heroine, Belle Graham, answers the door or the phone *six times* without knowing who is on the phone or at the door and begins to talk and talk and talk, giving away information before she discovers that the caller/visitor is not who she thought it was -- wouldn't somebody learn not to do that after *one* time? In addition, after receiving threatening phone calls, Belle receives another call immediately afterward so that she can't use star-69. This happens twice!

I thought this was a good idea, but I would not read another mystery by these authors.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Silly fluff, really silly if you look closely, July 27, 2003

By 

Dom Miliano (Denville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Crossword Connection (Crossword Mysteries) (Paperback)

I was stuck in Bar Harbor in the rain. The Inn had no TV and I had already finished the New York Magazine crossword. What to do? I went to the local bookstore and found this one. I finished the book quickly - a sign of boredom or a good read. Because there are 2 authors, I think the series lacks a real individual personality - I sense the duo had to make compromises in the writing style. They should take turns writing each book and let the chips fall where they may. Anyway, the idea that the CEO of a huge corporation would: 1) - accept an interview from an unknown director and meet on short notice and 2) that the CEO of said corporation would kill someone over ground water contamination from one gas station is laughable. Embarassing, actually. I work for a medium sized corporation and couldn't get to see the "big guy" if my life depended on it. But I don't want to be too negative. Afterall, the book helped me get through a bad couple of rainy days in Maine so how bad could it be?