A Crossword to Die for [Paperback]

Nero Blanc (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2003

When Belle's deadbeat dad mysteriously dies en route to seeing her, she and Rosco start digging through his sketchy past to find the truth behind his strange life and suspicious death.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In A Crossword to Die For, the pseudonymous Nero Blanc (The Crossword Connection) serves up six actual puzzles and one solid mystery featuring Belle Graham, crossword editor, and Rosco Polycrates, private investigator, as the newlyweds search for clues about Belle's father's odd (though ostensibly natural) death and his odder, more secret life. Surprising revelations and $10 words abound as another body turns up, a mysterious French woman causes problems and the couple begins to receive hints via puzzles faxed from Belize.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Nero Blanc is a pseudonym for Cordelia Frances Biddle and Steve Zettler, who are husband and wife and serious crossword buffs. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (June 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425190757
• ISBN-13: 978-0425190753
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,089,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars complex, entertaining and thoroughly thought-provoking, July 6, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crossword to Die For (Paperback)

Although her father, renowned anthropologist Theodore A. Graham, didn't show up for his daughter's wedding to P.I. Rosco Polycrates, he is on his way to visit them now. When Belle arrives at the Newcastle, Massachusetts train station her father is nowhere to be found. It is only later that she learns he died aboard the train apparently of a heart attack.

When she goes down to Florida to close down her father's condo, she meets an assistant she never knew he had. That assistant is later killed in a hit and run accident but by that time Belle and Roscoe think the deaths were planned hits. There are discrepancies in Theodore's records, a notebook of his has gone missing, and somebody in Mexico is sending them crossword puzzles that imply the professor and his assistant were murdered.

A Nero Blanc mystery is always fun to read because of the two protagonists who are so much in love that they leave the audience feeling clean and refreshed. The story line itself is complex, entertaining and thoroughly thought-provoking, a mystery lover's delight as well as a crossword puzzle fan's pleasure. This book, in fact this series, is highly recommended.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment, February 9, 2006

By 

A Southern Reader (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crossword to Die For (Paperback)

One of the other reviewers mentioned a few loose ends. Boy, talk about an understatement. What a disappointment. While the book had its moments, thre weren't nearly enough of them to justify a readers plodding through the 282 pages of dialogue and description to find out the extrememly mundane solution to the mystery, and then there are all those loose ends. Save your time and money.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read!, July 8, 2003

By 

Karen Kirsch "blazerlib" (Novi, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crossword to Die For (Paperback)

Belle waits for her father at the train station. When he doesn't show up, she just feels that he forgot to call to say he wasn't able to make it. They have a rather cold relationship. He didn't even make it to her wedding. She finds out that he has died of an apparent heart attack on the train and she ventures to Florida to collect his belongings, papers, etc. She meets his assistant, a young woman who gushes over how wonderful Belle's dad is. Hmmm...this side of him that she never saw! When she returns home, she and her husband Rosco find out many things from his papers that make them question his demise. The story takes us to Princeton University and a strange French female professor.
There are many twists and turns in this novel...why did her father fly to Belize when he was scared to death of flying...what was his relationship with his assistant...why did he visit Princeton before getting on the train to visit her (and where else did he go)?
While there seemed to be a couple of loose ends that were not explained, I really enjoyed the book and read it in 2 days.