A Crossworder's Delight

Crossword Mysteries #11

by Nero Blanc

While helping decorate a local inn for Christmas, Belle finds a handmade book of dessert recipes written in the form of crosswords, dedicated from mother to daughter. While she tries to puzzle out how such a treasure could have been abandoned, a precious poem belonging to the inn goes missing and the owners call Rosco to help. At first, Belle and Rosco think the case is a piece of cake, and gently roll their eyes at the fantastic scenarios that an eager young boy is cooking up to explain the theft. But his wild story might just measure up to the truth.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2005

About the author

Joint pseudonym of Cordelia Frances Biddle and Steve Zettler.

Reviews

[Bobby Underwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This trim entry in the crossword-mystery series written by husband and wife Cordelia Frances Biddle and Steve Zettler, under the pseudonym Nero Blanc, is harmless fun for crossword lovers and fans of light mysteries set during the holidays. Opening the day after Thanksgiving, as the annual contest of decorating the Paul Revere Inn for Christmas in eighteenth-century fashion begins, the authors give the story a genuine warmth of the holiday season.

Belle is the crossword puzzle editor for The Newcastle Evening Crier. She is joining her friends Sara and Martha from the church sewing group in an attempt to win a contest they've lost 4 years in a row. Morgan and Mitchell, twins and owners of the Inn, are constantly at odds over the expensive trappings Mitchell believes lends authenticity to the Inn's name. The original Longfellow poem hangs as a reminder of Newcastle's past.

When that framed historic poem is stolen, Belle's husband Rosco, an ex-cop turned private detective, looks into the matter. More intrigue surfaces when Belle discovers a book of puzzles. The book is filled with delicious recipes, but the ingredients are contained within the puzzles, so that the crosswords must be completed in order to enjoy them. As added nostalgia, the clues involves my favorite era, the 1940s!

A young teenager named E.T. Whitman has a sorry home-life but a love of words and helps Belle and Rosco do some sleuthing. The historic document’s sudden return leads to new discoveries about old crimes, long hidden and forgotten. The solving of the mystery has an added bonus for young Whitman I can't reveal.

A light cozy and holiday atmosphere makes this a nice read for Christmas, or those who wish it was Christmas year-round. Rosco and Belle are a warm and fun couple, and their love for their dogs Kit and Gabby is endearing. Anyone who enjoys a very light cozy mystery with seasonal ambience, and warm likable characters will enjoy this book. The recipes and crosswords are included, but Belle and Rosco, a.k.a. - Cordelia and Steve, have included the answers at the back if you get stuck. An enjoyable read.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unless you really love crossword puzzles and baking with chocolate this book has little to offer. As a mystery, it lacks tension and suspense and the characters, with the exception of a 12 year old boy were dimensionless and not believable; consequently it was difficult to care what happened to them
Even if you do like crossword puzzles and baked chocolate goodies, a crossword puzzle book and a cookbook would be a better buy.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"This holiday season, crossword editor Belle Graham and her PI partner Rosco Polycrates must restore a historic treasure to the local inn and trace the origins of a very special cookbook . . .

"Everyone in Newcastle, Massachusetts, gathers 'round to deck the halls of the Paul Revere Inn, noted for its signed copy of Longfellow's poem about the patriot. In the midst of the holiday revelry, Belle finds a handmade book of desert recipes, written in the form of crosswords dedicated from mother to daughter. The clues date the book to the midst of the Second World War. How did such a treasure come to be abandoned?

"While Belle follows the book's trail, foul play is added to the mix as the inn's 'revered' icon goes missing and the owners call Rosco to help. Twelve-year-old wordaholic E.T. Whitman is eager to assist -- although his constant punning can make him more of a hindrance than a help. At first, Belle and Rosco think the case is a piece of cake, and gently roll their eyes at the fantastic scenarios that E.T. is cooking up to explain the theft. But in this case, they might just measure up to the truth . . ."
~~back cover

A nicely done little mystery, with the usual cast of unique characters and several plot twists. Very enjoyable reading!

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up from a Little Free Library and thought: crosswords and mysteries! How could this not be charming? By page 5, I wasn’t sure I’d make it much further; by page 15 I was googling “Nero Blanc” to see who this hack could be. Turns out it’s not one but two people. It took two people to write this garbage? These purported language lovers commit every form of atrocity on the English language, from using “she jibed” and “he chuckled” as dialogue tags, to having a married couple address each other by name every time they speak, to describing cliché locales in excruciating detail. The only reason I finished is that it only took about 45 minutes to read. The only even slightly good thing about it was the nerdy kid. All else, including the lackluster and poorly paced mystery and the mediocre crosswords, is anything but a crossworder’s delight.
Note: The last crossword has a typo in the grid for North Sea feeder. Will Shortz would have a fit.

[Dlora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tickled by the fun word play but too lightweight a story. Definitely a cozy mystery type genre. Cutsey series trademark featuring crossword puzzles, in this book to have recipes included with associated crossword puzzles that supply key ingredients when you figure out the puzzle clues. Some nice historical elements but mostly the book didn't hold my attention and I should have just put it down. I probably would have enjoyed the first books better where the main characters were developed--private detective Rosco Polycrates and Annabella "Belle" Graham, the crossword editor for a Newcastle newspaper.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas time in rural Massachusetts; after a long setup involving character and plot development, three mysteries are introduced: (1) a piece of artwork is stolen then reappears, (2) a search for the author of a personalized book of crosswords, and (3) a cold case from WW II days when a woman fell to her death into a vat of chocolate. Everything is solved in the end. Nothing special.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery about an item

No one dies in this particular book. But the mystery is engaging all the same. A cop turned P. I. And his wife who constructs crossword puzzles team up with a 12 year old to solve a problem for innkeepers. Cute read.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Maybe not a top-notch mystery, but I enjoyed it.

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story revolves around two mysteries. One from the past that the main female character named Belle gets to work on solving. It involves a handmade old black book written from mother to daughter 60 yrs prior that's a cookbook made up of crossword puzzles. Both crossword puzzles and recipes provided. The 2nd mystery is about a framed poem that was signed by its author (Longfellow) about Paul Revere that goes missing in an Inn that's named after him. The location is MA, they've just gotten the first deep snowfall of the year, and Christmas decorations being hung. The main male character named Rosco (Belle's husband) gets to work on that mystery. The poem mysteriously appears again but opens a door into something larger than was originally considered. Both of them work closely with a 12 yr old boy named E.T. a chatterbox dictionary on legs who is very helpful to them. Much of the book is filled with a stuffy kind of aristocratic people. But the main couple, the boy, and one of the owners of the Inn named Mitch brought the book back to touchable. It was fun walking through the clues. One of the two mysteries are solved and one leaves the reader hanging. I think that the book would have been a tad more interesting to me if I were more of a grammar natzi but enjoyed increasing my vocabulary as a result.

[Julie Trapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Private detective Roscoe Polycrates and crossword editor Belle Graham are called in to investigate the disappearance of a valuable poem belonging to a local inn, a case that leads to the discovery of a handmade book of dessert recipes written in the form of crossword puzzles. [Amazon synopsis]

A stand alone even tho it is #11 in the series. Enjoyable read. Good puzzles scattered throughout.

Reread in 2023

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit weird to read a Christmas novel in July, but a pleasant enough cozy with a light touch.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was good. It held my interest long enough to get throughg it. It does have a few recipes in it though. A very quick read.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Belle and Rocco have to solve the mystery of why a signed poem of "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" was stolen from a local inn.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty predictable "who-done-it", but the crossword-recipes were awsome!

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #20 read in 2011

This was a quick read involving a missing poem and mysterious book of crossword recipes.