A Crossworder's Gift [Hardcover]

Nero Blanc (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2003

From the bestselling author of A Crossworder's Holiday and A Crossword to Die For-five Yuletide short mysteries to add to the hit series...

"At last," raves puzzle editor Charles Preston of USA Today, "puzzle fans have their revenge...super sleuthing and solving for puzzle lovers." Now, the irrepressible crossword editor Belle Graham and her P.I. partner, Rosco Polycrates, are back-in more short stories from the bestselling author.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nero Blanc is a pseudonym for Cordelia Frances Biddle and Steve Zettler, who are husband and wife and serious crossword buffs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1 edition (October 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425193152
• ISBN-13: 978-0425193150
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,327,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - Great gift, November 20, 2003

By 

April Dalton (Bellview,WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Crossworder's Gift (Hardcover)

Loads of fun and the perfect gift for all my crossword puzzle fiend friends. Once again Nero Blanc takes the reader to five exotic holiday spots, as he did with last year's A CROSSWORDER'S HOLIDAY. I'm a big Nero fan, so I may be biased, but I really enjoy this series, and especially this new addition. These short stories are all within the realm of believability, which make the mysteries all the more interesting. The writing moves with a quick and entertaining flow, and the puzzles a super. There's even one in the shape of a pirates Jolly Roger.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect gift for mystery and puzzle lovers, October 7, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: A Crossworder's Gift (Hardcover)

When Digger Bonnet died on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, the secret of his treasure stash died with him. Bell and Rosco spend a week down there. The puzzle constructor and the private detective, with a little help from a parrot, try to decipher the clues to Digger's treasure puzzle. "Holly, Jolly Roger" is a humorous brainteaser.

In "The Mystery of Wordworth House", a ghost tries to right an old wrong using Rosco and Belle to translate his message to his two granddaughters. This is a cute ghost story.

When a gambler dies, he leaves a goodly amount of his estate to an animal shelter. To find the valuables, Belle Graham is asked to create and solve a crossword puzzle that should lead to the money. "A CROSSWORDER'S GIFT" is a delightful holiday mystery.

A puzzle constructor's convention is taking place at the hotel near the Grand Canyon with Belle as the guest of honor. When one of the conventioneers is found dead, Rosco and his wife start sleuthing. "The Eraser's Edge" is one mystery that is almost impossible to solve.

In "Cross Stitch" a sewing circle gets stranded during a blizzard and the five women bond with each other. After completing a crossword, the truth about a late heiress surfaces, but to find out what it is, the reader must decipher the crossword puzzle.

Nero Blanc's holiday anthology makes the perfect gift for mystery and puzzle lovers.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mysteries to sleep by, January 19, 2005

By 

Author Bill Peschel "Writers Gone Wild" (Hershey, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Crossworder's Gift (Hardcover)

"A Crossworder's Gift" by Nero Blanc is a collection of five short stories with crossword puzzles, four of which feature crossword puzzle editor Belle Graham and P.I. partner Rosco Polycrates. The stories are bland and inoffensive, the perfect example of the stereotype of a cozy mystery, with thinly drawn characters and mysteries that are not very mysterious. Some pleasure in spending time in various vacation locations (Grand Canyon, Montreal, the Caribbean), but better mysteries can be found that accomplish that with far more style. Biggest mystery: how this series managed to reach seven books.