Publication Date: October 31, 2006 | Series: Puzzle Lady Mysteries
When Benny Southstreet, a small-time hustler with a big-time gift for constructing crosswords, accuses Cora of stealing one of his creations, it’s clearly a case of mistaken identity…until Cora’s own attorney files a plagiarism suit against her. To add to the enigma, when Benny is found dead, the police charge Cora with his murder!
At the heart of the matter is the not-so-little white lie Cora has been living for years: assuming the grandmotherly public face of her publicity-shy niece Sherry, who designs crossword puzzles and publishes them under Cora’s name—aka the Puzzle Lady. It turns out that Sherry’s and Benny’s cruciverbalist paths had recently crossed, resulting in the current incriminating conundrum.
As if Sherry’s wedding engagement jitters and a nasty battle over missing antique chairs weren’t enough to deal with, now Cora has to solve the ultimate mystery: how to keep the secret of her identity without losing her life. Because not only does all evidence point to Cora, but someone seems to want her dead. It looks like a riddle with no answer. Luckily for Cora and Sherry, that’s their favorite kind!
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: You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled (Puzzle Lady Mysteries) (Hardcover)
I enjoyed reading this book. I am a big fan of the Puzzle Lady Mysteries. I have read them all, and often look forward to a new book each year. This was a fast read and some of the statements that Cora the Puzzle Lady says in the book are comical.
I have found over the past years that the earlier Puzzle Lady Mysteries were better than the recent ones. This story made the Puzzle Lady seem very mean and feisty. In the past the character was feisty in a comical way. The Puzzle lady used to drink alcohol a little too much, but she was a sweet, happy drunk. The author now has our heroine on the wagon and she seems very bitter without her booze. While reading this book I often wished she would start to drink or get another love interest so she would lighten up. I thought the Puzzle Lady seemed a little too mean for her own good in this story. The last couple of chapters left me confused regarding how the murder occurred. I felt like the author had to quickly write the ending.
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It has been a struggle to finish this book. I could care less about missing chairs and new boyfriends vs. ex-husbands. This mystery is a stretch and I would not recommend this one in her series. Also, the young wife who needed a puzzle for her weird husband in order to apologize for a dented car, adds nothing to the plot, although it was obviously needed.
Don't buy this one, get one of her others.
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This review is from: You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled (Puzzle Lady Mysteries) (Hardcover)
One day at the coffee shop, puzzle lady Cora Feldon is asked to construct a puzzle for Mimi Dillinger so that's she can give it to her husband Chuck when she tells him she crashed the car. She hopes he will forgive her, which he does. Mimi publicly thanks Cora for the role her puzzle played and the note and puzzle appearin the newspaper. However there is one minor problem. Cora did not create the puzzle; her niece Sherry Carter did and she purloined it from a book of puzzles though she changed the clues.
The actual puzzle creator Benny Southstreet is livid that Cora plagiarized his work and when he challenged her she blew him off because she refuses to believe that Sherry would do such a deed. Benny plans to sue Cora so he breaks into her home and that of the Dillingers seeking proof. Earlier that day Mimi notices fifteen hundred dollars lying loose at her husband's desk so she puts the cash away. Chick calls the police to report a break-in, which leads to a series of events resulting in someone murdering Benny and Cora arrested for the homicide as all evidence leads to her.
The latest puzzle lady mystery is a delightful whodunit complete with crossword puzzles that entertain and stimulate the readers with clues to the mystery. Cora is the star as she seeks to clear her name even while every clue she finds proves her guilt. There are many red herrings that the audience will not know across from down as Cora looks guilty. Parnell Hall provides his fans with a solid murder mystery that only by finishing the book can a reader uncover the identity of the culprit.
Harriet Klausner
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