The Sudoku Murder: A Katie McDonald Mystery [Hardcover]

Shelley Freydont (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2007

Professor P.T. Avondale is found murdered at his desk at the Avondale Puzzle Museum. Katie McDonald, master puzzle-solver, has returned home to save her childhood mentor's museum from being auctioned off when she learns of the Professor's death. Now she finds herself curator of the museum and in charge of the Professor's newest mentee, a fourteen-year-old runaway. Katie is now faced with working to solve the puzzle of the Professor's murder before a ruthless killer applies his own deadly solution.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This intriguing first in a new series from Freydont (A Merry Little Murder and four other mysteries featuring dancer Linda Haggerty) introduces mathematician and Sudoku whiz Katie McDonald. Katie, a self-professed geek who works for a hush-hush government think tank, returns to her hometown of Granville, N.H., at the behest of her former mentor, P.T. Avondale. Katie is shocked to find Avondale frail and preoccupied, his beloved puzzle museum in serious disrepair and dire financial straits. Before Katie can make sense of the situation, she discovers Avondale murdered in his office—slumped over an unfinished Sudoku puzzle that may provide a clue to the killer's identity. She tops the brash new police chief's suspect list and decides to solve the case on her own, not only to clear her name but to save the Avondale museum from the wrecking ball. Readers will want to see a lot more of the intelligent and endearing Katie. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Mathematician and puzzle master Katie McDonald takes some time off from her job at the Institute of Theoretical Mathematics to return to her hometown and help her mentor try to save the Avondale Puzzle Museum. When Katie finds her friend dead at his desk, she becomes the de facto curator of the museum and chief suspect in the professor's murder. Solving the unfinished Sudoku puzzle that the deceased was working on becomes the key to proving Katie's innocence. Entertaining fare for mystery-reading Sudoku addicts. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (April 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078671977X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786719778
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Shelley Freydont is the author of the Katie McDonald and Lindy Haggerty mystery series, and the upcoming Liv Montgomery, Celebration Bay Festival Mysteries (Berkeley Prime Crime). She has written several romance novels under the pseudonym Gemma Bruce. Her books have been translated into seven languages.

Her first women's fiction novel, Beach Colors, written as Shelley Noble, will be published by William Morrow June 2012.

A former professional dancer and choreographer, she most recently worked on the films, Mona Lisa Smile and The Game Plan. Shelley is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and Liberty States Fiction Writers.

For more about Shelley, please visit her website www.shelleyfreydont.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars puzzles within puzzles, May 23, 2007

By 

Pearl Wolf "An avid reader" (Southampton, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sudoku Murder: A Katie McDonald Mystery (Hardcover)

This well-written mystery grabbed my attention from page one. Katie is reluctantly drawn into a small New England town murder mystery full of intrigue that rings true, believable quirky characters and all. What with the popularity of sudoku, as well as all puzzles, The Puzzle Museum, almost istelf a character in this plot, will make you yearn to visit. The surprising plot twists will keep mystery lovers, as well as sudoku fans reading way into the night. I look forward to the next Katie McDonald mystery.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sudoku and Murder, March 4, 2009

By 

Dawn Dowdle "Mystery Lovers Corner reviewer" (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sudoku Murder: A Katie McDonald Mystery (Hardcover)

Katie McDonald's old friend Professor P. T. Avondale has asked her back home to help him with a problem. So Katie takes a break from her mathematical think tank job. In school Katie was a "geek" and never fit in. That is until the professor took her under his wing at his puzzle museum.

When Katie arrives, she finds the puzzle museum isn't looking so good any more. Plus the mean receptionist doesn't make visitors feel welcome. The professor tells Katie that the bank has threatened foreclosure, and he wants her help in finding where the payments went. When she finds the professor stabbed to death, she knows something is definitely amiss.

This was such a fun mystery to read. I found myself not wanting to put it down to figure out who did it and why. Katie is such a fun character, too. The author did a great job of intertwining information about Sudoku along with the fabulous mystery. It makes for such an enjoyable cozy mystery read.

I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to read #2.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sudoku Mystery: A Katie McDonald Mystery, October 30, 2011

By 

Elizabeth C. Espinosa - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sudoku Murder: A Katie McDonald Mystery (Hardcover)

The book was shipped and received in a timely manner. It was a gift and the recipient enjoys doing Sudoku puzzles. She enjoyed it.