Series: Puzzle Lady Mysteries | Publication Date: August 28, 2001
It’s no mystery why readers love the Puzzle Lady, Miss Cora Felton, the eccentric amateur detective who keeps everyone guessing as she keeps herself in the thick of trouble. Find out why critics agree that “Cora is emerging as a lovable and unique sleuth” (Chicago Sun-Times) in “a fun series for mystery fans and cruciverbalists” (USA Today).
Wealthy widow Emma Hurley died with only her servants at her side — but after she passes away, her greedy heirs crawl out of the woodwork to stake a claim in Emma’s fortune. To their surprise, Emma was not content to leave behind a simple will. Instead, her final testament includes a clever puzzle ... one to be given only to her living heirs.
The first one to solve the puzzle will inherit Emma’s entire estate; everyone else will be left with a pittance. The will also stipulates that Cora Felton — local celebrity and famed author of a popular syndicated crossword puzzle column — must referee the contest.
Unfortunately, it’s Cora’s niece, Sherry Carter, who is the brains behind Cora’s “Puzzle Lady” persona. And it’s up to Sherry to unravel the bizarre riddle Emma Hurley engineered before her death. For soon it’s plain that Emma’s game is one without a clear winner ... and that the players could lose far more than they ever imagined!
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Cora Felton is the kind of dame your father might have called "a firecracker": a not-so-upstanding lady of a certain age who drinks her martinis by the shaker and delights in scandalizing not only the staid denizens of her cozy Connecticut village but also her niece Sherry, who's the private "ghost" behind Cora's public image as the Puzzle Lady. Even People Magazine, which has lined up an interview with Cora, believes the brazen old broad is the brains behind her phenomenally successful syndicated crossword puzzle column. Only Sherry and the ambitious young newspaper reporter who loves her know that Cora hasn't got a clue. Certainly, Emma Hurley didn't, which may explain why she left Cora in charge of sorting out her will, a puzzle wrapped in a 40-year-old enigma whose solution will earn one of Emma's heirs a vast fortune. The relatives are a motley lot, greedy and unappealing, but would any of them stoop to murder? When the bodies start piling up, it certainly looks that way, especially to Cora, who's better at judging human nature than word contests. While the answers to the crossword lead everyone else to the wrong conclusions, they point Cora and Sherry to the right ones and target a murderer in the process. The pace rollicks along nicely, the crossword's deceptively transparent, and this is a slight but charming little treat for the puzzle mavens on your Christmas list, especially those who've encountered Cora and Sherry in their first adventure, (A Clue for the Puzzle Lady). --Jane Adams--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
The second puzzle for Cora Felton (following A Clue for the Puzzle Lady) is even better than her clever debut. Although nationally syndicated columnist Cora is known as the "Puzzle Lady" to her Bakerhaven, Conn., neighbors, it's actually her brainy niece, Sherry Carter, who creates the famous crossword puzzles attributed to Cora. With a grandmotherly appearance that belies the oft married, cigarette-smoking, hard-drinking reality beneath, Cora fancies that her forte is solving mysteries. And Sherry's reticence and desire to shun the spotlight hides a puzzle constructor of the first rank. Their respective skills get a real test when wealthy, eccentric Emma Hurley dies and leaves a will that requires her potential heirs to compete in a puzzle-solving contest. She has furthermore appointed Cora final judge and arbiter. The assembled heirs-in-waiting are a motley lotAfrom obnoxious battling twins, Phyllis and Philip, to hermit-like Chester and disaffected young nephew Daniel. Reporter Aaron Grant returns as a romantic foil for Sherry, though things keep getting in the way of their budding amour. Edgar nominee Hall, a master of wordplay himself, has great fun as bloodletting and other forms of skullduggery complicate the search for clues and answers to a 40-year-old puzzle. The bantering affection between irrepressible Cora and shy Sherry, the antics of Emma's kin and a bit of murder and mayhem allow Hall to mask the puzzle's solution to the very end. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Parnell Hall's music video, KING OF KINDLE, is on his Amazon author page! Cameos by Lawrence Block, Mary Higgins Clark, and dozens of other mystery writers. See how many you can spot. (Scroll down for video)
Parnell is the author of the Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mysteries, set in the fictitious town of Bakerhaven, Connecticut. Cora Felton, the Puzzle Lady, has a nationally syndicated crossword puzzle column, but couldn't construct a puzzle if her life depended on it. Her niece Sherry Carter writes the column for her. The much married Miss Felton is much happier solving crime. She made her debut in 1999 in A CLUE FOR THE PUZZLE LADY, and has since romped through LAST PUZZLE & TESTAMENT, PUZZLED TO DEATH, and A PUZZLE IN A PEAR TREE, WITH THIS PUZZLE, I THEE KILL, AND A PUZZLE TO DIE ON, and STALKING THE PUZZLE LADY. Cora is herself a suspect in YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN PUZZLED.
Though poor at words, Cora proves most adept at numbers in THE SUDOKU PUZZLE MURDERS. New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz constructed the sudoku puzzles that help solve the mystery. Sudoku puzzles also play a part in DEAD MAN'S PUZZLE, and THE PUZZLE LADY VS. THE SUDOKU LADY. Cora tackles a new number puzzle in THE KENKEN KILLINGS.
As research for the Puzzle Lady books, Parnell competed in the National Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, Connecticut, where out of a field of 254 contestants he finished 250th, just ahead of the four people who failed to turn in a paper. Parnell composed the puzzles for his earlier books. He now has them created by New York Times constructor Manny Nosowsky, and edited by National Tournament winner Ellen Ripstein.
Parnell also writes the Stanley Hastings mystery novels, and the Steve Winslow courtroom dramas. His first novel, DETECTIVE, was nominated for an Edgar award by the Mystery Writers of America, and a Shamus award by the Private Eye Writers of America. His tenth Stanley Hastings novel, MOVIE, was nominated for a Shamus award for Best Private Eye Novel of 1995, and for a Lefty for the funniest mystery novel of 1995. Recently, Stanley and his wife Alice vacationed at a New England bed-and-breakfast in COZY, a takeoff on that subset of the genre; the book is full of recipes and the cat solves the crime. Stanley returned to the mean streets of Manhattan in MANSLAUGHTER, HITMAN, and CAPER. He has his first paranormal encounter in the short story DEATH OF A VAMPIRE, in the Charlaine Harris anthology, CRMIES BY MOONLIGHT.
Parnell worked for two years as a private detective in New York City. His experiences form the basis for his Stanley Hastings series. He has no courtroom experience, however, and owes his Steve Winslow series to a childhood spent reading Erle Stanley Gardner.
Parnell is an actor, who has done summer stock and regional theater, and appeared in a number of movies, including Arnold Schwarzenegger's first movie, Hercules in New York (in which he appeared clad in a leopard skin) and A New Leaf with Elaine May and Walter Matthau.
Parnell is a member of the Writers Guild of America East with several screenplays to his credit, including the underground horror movie C.H.U.D., which has been satirized on Saturday Night Live, the Simpsons, Pushing Daisies, The Dailey Show, and The Colbert Report.
Parnell's career as a professional songwriter began at the age of sixteen, when Pete Seeger sang The Literacy Test Song on the Folkways album, Gazette, Volume 2. Parnell has performed his songs at several mystery conventions, including the Edgar Awards, Magna Cum Murder, Malice Domestic, and the Bouchercon. This year he is performing The Ballad of Alferd Packard, a song celebrating Denver's most famous cannibal, at the Left Coast Crime banquet.
Parnell Hall is a former President of the Private Eye Writers of America, and a member of Sisters in Crime. He lives in New York City.
Last Puzzle and Testament is an intriguing approach to the "whodunit" genre. Set in a small town and revolving around the rich old maid who dies and her money-grubbing relatives, the story has the potential to be just another one of hundreds of similar stories. The gimmick that makes this novel different is the crossword writing amateur sleuth and a treasure hunt for the heirs that is based on, you guessed it, a crossword puzzle. Cora Felton is a celebrity in the small town of Bakershaven. She is cruciverbalist, a crossword puzzle constructor, with a national syndication as The Puzzle Lady. The only problem is that she knows more about multiple marriages and martinis than vocabulary. Cora's niece and companion, the divorced Sherry Carter, is really the crossword expert, but started using her aunt as a front for her image and to overcome the problem of being too young for credibility. Now they are stuck with the subterfuge. When elderly spinster Emma Hurley dies her attorney, following her instructions, assembles the potential heirs and informs them that the bulk of the estate is to be awarded to the first one to solve a puzzle she has devised. She also names the local celebrity, The Puzzle Lady, as the sole judge and referee. Then, as the puzzle solving begins, people start to die. The twists and turns of the puzzle, and of the detecting, involve Sherry and Cora in a variety of situations, all leading up to a very unexpected resolution. Part of the charm of this mystery is the character of Cora herself. A good-heated soul, she just drinks a little more than she should, and a lot more often. She and Sherry go through some interesting gyrations in order to cover up that Cora just doesn't have what it takes to solve, much less create, a crossword puzzle. The romantic interest is provided by Aaron Grant, reporter for the Bakershaven Gazette. He has already figured out that Sherry really writes the crosswords, but wants her to tell him as a sign of their developing relationship. Sherry, on the other hand, doesn't feel right about letting a relationship develop until she tells him the truth. Every time one of them is about to bring the matter to a head, something happens to distract them. Last Puzzle and Testament, by Parnell Hall is an amusing little mystery, well worth the read.
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The other evening, I sat in the waiting room during my daughter's dance class, reading Last Puzzle and Testament. I was probably three-quarters of the way through with it, when suddenly I dropped my head into my hands, rubbed my temples and moaned. Another parent there turned to me and said, "Do you have a headache?"
I looked up at him and said, "No, this book is really stupid."
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This review is from: Last Puzzle & Testament (Puzzle Lady Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
Emma Hurley was the eccentric rich old maid in town before she died of old age. Now her relatives are gathering to hear her last will. And it's a doozy. The first one to solve a puzzle will inherit ten million dollars; the rest will walk away with ten thousand each. Not a bad conciliation prize, but for the greedy family, second place is not good enough. To win, there will be a race to solve a puzzle.
Called on to judge the contest is famed "Puzzle Lady" Cora Felton. Which only makes sense when the puzzle turns out to be a crossword grid with a quarter of the clues. The catch, of course, is the Cora knows nothing about cross word puzzles, so her niece Sherry must work behind the scenes to keep her aunt's public image intact.
Racing to stay ahead of the heirs would be bad enough if it weren't for the murders. First it's the town drunk. But then one of the heirs is found dead. Is the competition getting to be too much? And where will the crossword puzzle lead?
Not being a crossword puzzle fan, I put this series off for way too long. While there is a puzzle the reader is invited to solve from the clues in the book, ignoring the grid doesn't dampen the enjoyment one bit. This is a fast paced story that keeps the reader engaged and guessing from the start to the surprising climax. Honestly, I don't think I'd want to take time out to work the puzzle on my own even if I liked them.
The first book seemed to have four main characters as the reader got the story from multiple viewpoints fairly consistently. This time around, the focus has definitely shifted to Cora, even though the other three characters still play important parts of the book and we occasionally see the action from their eyes. Cora is still a drunk alcoholic at the beginning, but once the story gets going, she sobers up. I must say I prefer watching a sober Cora in action. The word play between characters is cut down a little, too, which is a disappointment to me, although what is in the books is still great. The author does use a lot of dialog and a writing style that flows well, so the book is a surprisingly fast read.
After reading the first in the series, I decided I'd wait and read another before I decided for sure if I liked the series or not. I'd say it's official. I'm already looking forward to reading the third in this entertaining and original series.
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