It’s the battle of the century when Minami, the Sudoku Lady, shows up in Bakerhaven, Connecticut, to meet Cora Felton, the Puzzle Lady, whose sudoku books have just edged Minami’s off of the Japanese bestseller list. Before the rivals have a chance to square off, a killer strikes, and a sudoku puzzle is found at the scene of the murder. Now it’s a fight to the finish to see who can unmask the killer.
Cora is eager to undo her Japanese counterpart---at least until the poor woman is arrested for murder and Cora realizes that she accidentally framed her for the crime. As if that weren’t frustrating enough, the publicity of her arrest drives Minami’s sales through the roof!
Now it’s up to Cora to clear her rival’s name, get her off the bestseller list, and trap the real killer, but she’d better do it fast, before the cops find out what Cora did, and she winds up facing more jail time than Minami.
Boasting an entertaining, fun-filled mystery, as well as several satisfying crossword and sudoku puzzles, the Puzzle Lady’s latest adventure makes for a rollicking good read.
Cora Felton, the Puzzle Lady, finds herself challenged to a sudoku duel when Minami, the Sudoku Lady, arrives in the U.S. from Japan, looking for a showdown after Cora’s sudoku book tops Minami’s on the Japanese best-seller list. After several deaths occur—the first possibly accidental, the others clearly murder—the two race to outdo each other and solve the crimes. The acerbic Cora becomes annoyed as Minami always seems to be one step ahead of her, but when Minami ends up in jail after Cora accidentally frames her, the Puzzle Lady feels compelled to clear her rival. The combination of engaging characters and plenty of sudoku puzzles to solve are the draw here, but fans of the Puzzle Lady series, now in its eleventh installment, will also be pleased to catch up with the personal lives of Cora and her newlywed niece, Sherry. Those who appreciate all types of puzzles will also enjoy Shelley Freydont’s Katie McDonald mysteries, in which Katie owns a puzzle museum, and puzzles are an integral part of the solution to the mysteries. --Sue O'Brien
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.
This review is from: The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady: A Puzzle Lady Mystery (Hardcover)
Cora is shocked when she finds out that Minami shows up in town looking for her. Turns out that Minami is known in Japan as The Sudoku Lady, and one of Cora's Sudoku books has recently topped hers on the best seller list.
Then a dead body turns up in town. It looks for all the world like a tragic accident, but Minami insists it was murder and challenges Cora to a race to solve the crime. Then a second body turns up, and Minami is arrested for the crime. What's behind the latest murder spree? Is Minami really guilty?
As always, this is a fast passed, fun book. While we weren't quite back in the old patterns of previous books, we were downright close. (Please, make Dennis a victim in the next book!) The book seemed to bog down in the middle with too many scenes of Cora going from person to person and getting frustrated she wasn't learning anything new.
But things picked up in the final 100 pages, and the climax was once again over the top, but in a fun way. The solution was logical and not quite out of thin air. And the humor and word play was as constant a part of the book as always.
While not the best entry in the series, this book will certainly entertain the many fans of the series.
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This review is from: The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady: A Puzzle Lady Mystery (Hardcover)
I waited patiently for this book to come out, and waited even longer for it to come to my local library. I am SO happy I did not buy this book. This is by far the worst Puzzle Lady book and a huge disappointment to her fans. The overall story is convoluted at best, and boring at worst, and the "Secrets" revealed throughout are transparent and things 5 year old would've guessed. I noticed in the last two installments the theme of minimizing Cora's interaction with her niece, which I think is a huge disservice to both characters. Parnell, go back to the old formula! It worked!!! This isn't working!!!
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This review is from: The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady: A Puzzle Lady Mystery (Hardcover)
In Japan, Minami "the Sudoku Lady" is shocked when an American pushes past her to number one on her country's bestseller list. Stunned and ashamed by this dishonor that that some ancient New England crone Cora "The Puzzle Lady" Felton has moved ahead of her, Minami accompanied by her teenage niece Michiko comes to Bakerhaven, Connecticut to challenge the foreign upstart in a puzzler's duel. Minami is unaware that Cora is the front for her shy recently married niece Sherry Carter who creates the crossword and sudoku puzzles.
Cora as the Wicked Witch of the West wants to ignore the Japanese diva, but Sherry persuades her otherwise. However, before the duel between the Japanese puzzle champion and her American rival can occur, Police Chief Harper informs the aunt and niece that Mrs. Ida Fielding was murdered, but not by her spouse who was in jail sleeping off a drunken binge and no puzzles to assist on the investigation. Harper wants Cora to help anyway because she is very good at finding clues. Minami sees them and follows them. As the two puzzle-makers compete, Minami is arrested for murder so her books move back to number one while Cora and Sherry try to prove the visitor is innocent and Michiko asks them to take their time so she can go mall shopping without adult supervision.
The latest Puzzle Lady tale is the usual enjoyable lighthearted whodunit in which the mystery takes a back seat to the cast. This time the aunt-niece relationship is double the fun as the Japanese equivalent to the Connecticut Yanks invades New England. With several Will Shortz sudoku and crossword puzzles included, readers who enjoy a fluffy entertaining cozy will want to watch the battle of the puzzle warriors with their nieces as their squires.
Harriet Klausner
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