Tödliches Sudoku

Katie McDonald #1

by Shelley Freydont

Das Rätsel eines Mordes Eigentlich hatte Kate nicht vorgehabt, je wieder in ihre Heimatstadt Granville zurückzukehren. Nur an das Rätsel-Museum hat sie gute Erinnerungen. Und an ihren früheren Mentor, Prof. Avondale, mit dem sie die Begeisterung für Sudokus und andere mathematische Knobeleien teilt. Nun bittet der Professor die junge Frau um Hilfe, weil Unbekannte versuchen ihn zu erpressen. Doch auch Kate kann nicht verhindern, dass Avondale ermordet wird. Bei ihren eigenen Nachforschungen stößt sie schließlich auf ein Detail, das der Polizei bisher entgangen ist: Neben der Leiche lag ein angefangenes Sudoku…

Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Cozy Mystery

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

aka Gemma Bruce

Shelley Freyont is the author of the Lindy Haggerty Sudoku mysteries. She attended the University of Utah majoring in philosophy and dance. Shelley Freydont has also toured as a professonal dance with Twyla Tharp Dance and Americal Ballroom theater. She has appeared and choreographed in television, film, and Brodway.

Series:
* Lindy Haggerty Mystery
* Kate McDonald Mystery

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed New Hampshire for a reading challenge, I like mysteries, and Sudoku puzzles are my main hobby, so when I saw this title I sent for the book right away. It's the first one by this author that I've read, and I was impressed with her treatment of a small, fictional New England town full of long-standing animosities. The characters, many of them rather disagreeable, seemed quite realistic to me.

The close third-person narration takes us into the thoughts and feelings of the main character, Kate McDonald, age twenty-nine, on her return to her home town of Granville after nine years, responding to an urgent request from her beloved childhood mentor P. T. Avondale, whom everyone calls the Professor. He's in charge of Granville's unique feature, a puzzle museum where Kate, who didn't fit in anywhere else in town, found companionship with P. T. and spent many happy hours in which each of the two sat quietly working puzzles.

Now the museum is in disrepair and about to be foreclosed by the bank, so Kate will do her best to sort out the mess and save the museum. She's living in her childhood home, under the rather peremptory supervision of her only surviving relative Aunt Pru, who is convinced that what Kate needs the most is a husband--any single man with job security. Pru clearly doesn't think much of Kate's position as a Ph.D. in mathematics at a think tank in Alexandria, Virginia (next door to U.S. military headquarters at the Pentagon), and I didn't get much of a sense of Kate's career either; all we're told is that she has a few weeks off between projects.

This is how the novel begins; we get to know Kate, the Professor, Pru, and other townspeople through four chapters before the murder happens, with the result that I felt the emotional impact of his sudden death right along with Kate. Her grief combines with her need to come to grips with the traumas of her childhood and youth in Granville as she tries to deal with the newly hired police chief, Mitchell, whom the town unanimously rejects as an outsider. Conflicts abound in Granville!

The publisher's blurb on my edition of this book reveals that the museum board makes Kate the acting curator, so although that's not mentioned in the summary at the top of this Goodreads page, I trust it doesn't count as a spoiler--you might have been wondering what sort of standing Kate has locally as the investigation progresses, and how she gets into the middle of so many of the town's conflicts. (The big controversy is over a proposed shopping mall to replace the historic neighborhood that contains the museum and many old houses.)

In general, this novel blends intense small-town drama with a crime thriller in which Kate and Mitchell are usually at loggerheads. Despite the title, and Kate's love of Sudoku, there's very little detail about puzzles or mathematics. The pool of suspects is carefully developed, but the actual motive for the murder isn't revealed till the end, and it came as a surprise out of the blue for me; it was quite a twist. So more of a thriller/procedural than a classical mystery. Slow moving but fairly enjoyable. x

[Aslı Dağlı · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay! A mathematician as a sleuth! 4 stars, thoroughly enjoyable.

Don't worry if you're not that much "into" math. No math is required to read this book.

I did love the references to proof terminology, though.

No, it's not at all like the TV series "Numbers," where a mathematician uses esoteric (but often real) math to solve mysteries. In this case, we don't actually see Katie do math. We just know her history of it and how it informs her thinking.

This book's thought process is more along the lines of puzzle solving, and I bought it for my mom, who loves sudoku. She did thoroughly enjoy the book, and I enjoyed it after her. And although I'm not usually one to play sudoku, I ended up playing it - and enjoying it - during the time frame while I read this book. I think I'll keep that app on my phone...

The answer to the professor's clue in the sudoku was almost "cheating" in that it wasn't really either sudoku or a cipher. I didn't get it, although I have used that kind of number-trickery before, as a joke, on my calculator. This one involved more letters than mine.

I would read more of this series if I came across them.

I think I'll give it to my mathematician-sister next.

It also reminded me of Sunni Jeffer's "A Puzzling Occurrence" and I think the readers of one would like the other and vice versa.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable mystery with some unusual characters. You do not need to play Sudoku to understand the plot.

[Kira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieses Buch war eine positive Überraschung! Es war total gemütlich und gehört für mich ganz klar in die Kategorie "Wohlfühlbuch". Seltsam, das über ein Kriminalroman zu sagen? Vielleicht. Aber der ganze Plot, die Location und natürlich die Charaktere tragen sehr dazu bei.
Ein Sudoku vor jedes Kapitel zu setzen, fand ich grandios. Ich liebe Sudokus und konnte mich dann immer nicht entscheiden, ob ich jetzt Sudokus lösen oder lesen möchte. (Letzendlich wurden zumindest die ersten 19 Sukodus vorm Lesen gelöst - dann wurden die Sudokus sehr schwer und die Handlung zu spannend.)
Ich mochte die Geschichte und die Auflösung. Alles nichts allzu Weltbewegendes, aber genau das habe ich gebraucht. Toller Krimi zum Knobeln für Zwischendurch!

[Ally Gebhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ I liked this more than I thought I was going to - the mystery was interesting and the characters were super likable

[Jessica Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw this book in the library, it immediately caught my eye. It seemed like an interesting concept for a great book. Inside the back cover there were reviews from others that had read it. One of the ratings caught my eye. It was a 2 star rating saying the writing was “rather juvenile", and I would say that I have to agree. The book had a slow start, but I decided to give it a chance as the murder does not happen till later in the book. The writing seemed to be rather unorganized and random. I had a hard time putting myself in the shoes of the character. The emotions of the characters were unrealistic as they were not super concerned or saddened. That being said, this book might be a good read for a younger demographic. The other ratings in the back of the book were a four and five out of five. Just because this book was not my favorite does not mean it was an overall bad book.
The end of the book was by far the best part. The story is about a murder that happens to Professor Avondale, a longtime friend of Katie Macdonald. Don’t be deceived by the cover, Sudoku is only a small portion of the plot. There are times of action like in the part they caught the murder in the house. Harry, who was the police that Katie did not get along with at first, heroically saves her from the murderer.“ ‘You killed the professor,’ Harry cried and launched at him. The barrel of the postal caught him on the temple (Freydont 326)”. When the murderer is caught, the book picks up phase and starts unraveling quickly. 
In the end the book was hard to put down and want more. It was both predictable and surprising at the same time. After investing the time into reading the book, and giving it a chance I was glad to see it come together. If the rest of the book was as good as the ending it would have kept my attention. I have read mystery books in the past that were astonishing. I know that mystery books have the potential to tell an amazing story from beginning to end. Overall I'm glad I got to read the book and am interested in reading more mysteries in the future.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't been putting many books on Goodreads lately; despite my new year's resolution to keep track of my reading this way I must confess I haven't seen much benefit in it. But this time I'm going to, and it's because when I pull a random book off of the shelf it is ALWAYS with trepidation. The last time I did it I ended up feeling dirty as I finished the book--filled with drunkenness and sex--and I am embarrassed to even admit that I finished it just to see what happened. Well this time was a different, and happier, story. I found this book entertaining and completely un-objectionable. There was hardly a swear word in it, and nothing else to bother me either. I figured that as rarely as that happens I should shout to the world that this book is worth reading!!!

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geeky, smart Kate returns to her home town after receiving a request from her mentor and friend Professor PK Avondale. She needs to rely on all her mathematical and intuitive skills to solve the murder she finds. The puzzle component to this mystery was interesting but I don't think I'll pursue others in this series at this point.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad that I found this "new to me" author at the library. The cover and title grabbed my attention. The story did that from the very first page. The characters were well developed and certainly made me look forward to see what is happening in future books in this series.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book, easy read

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good start to the series. I thought the story moved along nicely and there were plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting. I look forward to reading more.

[Patty Sutton]

enjoyed this. Not the deepest, but fun quick read.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the puzzle aspect, but what I like most are the characters. Quirky and fairly well developed. A fun, light read

[Kindell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this while browsing the library and decided to give it a try. I liked the premise and the characters were endearing but overall it was just an easy read.

[Barbara Frey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery. Had me guessing till close to the end.

[Skyqi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katie didn't have any friends when she was a little girl. After her mother died in an accident, she met Professor Avondale, owner of the Avondale Puzzle Museum, who was kind to her and became her mentor. Twenty years later, she receives a letter from the professor requesting her help. She immediately returns to her hometown and finds that the museum is rundown and close to foreclosure. As she begins to figure out how to save the museum, the professor is killed. Since she is found at the scene reaching for the murder weapon, she becomes the prime suspect. She decides to investigate the murder herself to find justice for the professor.

This is the first book of a series from 2008. The character of Katie was likeable and the story was well-written. You immediately are shown that Katie really cared for the professor and the puzzle museum. There are mandy clues and leads for her to follow. Several people had a motive to kill the professor. The museum and several homes are in the proposed location of a new mall. A relative of the professor is extremely anxious to take ownership of the museum property. The professor and other owners have been pressured and possibly threatened to sell. Also, there is the new chief of police who is investigating the murder and needs to close this case to secure his position. Kate grapples with her loneliness and possibly taking on a new career in the town. Her Aunt Pru is desperate to find her a husband and pesters her throughout the book, but Katie may be interested in a certain police chief. There are even sudoku puzzles throughout the book you can solve. The author juggles a lot of topics and it all blends well for a great read.

[Sarah Levy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. It was a fun read. Not too complex, but no way you could have figured out some of the clues and puzzles. Characters were somewhat compelling. I might give a Katie McDonald mystery a second chance.

[Jennifer]

I wrote in 2009:

I admit. I'm addicted to Sudoku. It has gotten even worse now that I have it on my iPhone. While this is pretty much par for the course for small town murder mysteries. It was fun to play the Sudoku's throughout.

[Lex Thiel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anständige Sudoku Rätsel, die Kapitel für Kapitel komplexer werden. Die Geschichte ist extrem banal, der Schreibstil ist unter aller Sau. Hier wäre mehr drin gewesen. Dann lieber nach einem reinen Sudoku-Heft greifen als diesen Drei-Groschen-Roman zu lesen.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a puzzle museum and the curator is killed and leaves the clue in the Sudoku.

Some mighty improbable characters and actions.

A fast read.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this mystery. I had t wait till the end to learn who committed the murder. That's a good mystery.

[katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 well i finished it honestly wasn’t as bad as i expected but it wasn’t amazing so

[Cat. · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, I admit: I picked this up when I cataloged it, strictly because of the connection with Sudoku.

It's a relatively formulaic intro to a potential mystery series: hapless heroine thrown into unusual danger, fortitude in the face of danger, a hint of attraction to someone who she would prefer not to be attracted to.... Yep. There'll be sequel.

And by the way, with the exception of the Killer Sudokus that I've started doing this year, there is absolutely no math skill needed for solving sudoku. It's about LOGIC, not math; they could be solved with the letters A-J instead of the numbers 1-9. The author says she does sudokus, but then she make them into the Math Puzzle, which they aren't.

OK, the idea is that the former Geek of the Century of Granville, NH, is asked by her mentor, Professor P.T. Avondale (the "P.T." is enormously misleading--the man shares no personality characteristics with P.T. Barnum whatsoever!) to come back to her home town and help him save his Puzzle Museum. Then he's killed. Then someone tries to kill, or at least scare, her. And the police chief is out of his element, but has melty brown eyes and a beautiful smile. And her aunt keeps setting her up with "eligible" men (which the chief isn't because he gave Aunt Pru--I kid you not!--a traffic ticket). And she's plucky, although I'm almost sure that word isn't actually used.

I liked the book, actually. It had a nice, fresh take on some of the dusty stereotypical formula-heroine books. But don't expect Dostoevsky.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curator of the Avondale Puzzle Museum, Professor P.T. Avondale is found murdered at his desk. Katie McDonald, who has returned home to help save her childhood mentor’s museum from being auctioned off, becomes the number one suspect. Meanwhile, she finds herself interim curator of the museum and in charge of Harry, a fourteen-year-old runaway and the professor's latest protege. Katie is now faced with working with the town's new police chief to solve the puzzle of the Professor’s murder and prove her innocence.

First in a planned series. Fun and exciting with charming, odd-ball characters typical of a small town. Nice touch of romantic interest between Katie and the police chief. Highly recommen

[Scilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is somewhat formulaic, but with a few new twists. Brilliant, female mathematician returns to childhood home to help her childhood mentor, the professor who runs the puzzle museum, to save the museum. Shortly after she returns she finds the professor shot. The police chief arrives and she is his first suspect. The young boy the professor has been mentoring has disappeared. The woman tries to solve the murder and she and the policeman begin to like each other. The boy returns and together he and the mathematician solve the puzzles. The killer is about to kill the mathematician when police chief saves her.

[JustKatie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a quick and easy read but the characters were flat & stereotypical and too much of what happened from start to finish felt like filler material. The stuff with the police chief was predictable and the book wrapped up a little too neatly.

This is the first book in the Katie McDonald series, but it felt like there was a lot of information about Katie’s background that the reader was supposed to already know. I’m not mad I read it, but I don’t think I’ll actively seek out the sequels.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

So puzzley! Not only does the murder take place in a puzzle museum, the clues are in puzzles, and the plot climax occurs in a maze - wow. I very much liked the main character Kate McDonald, as well as the supporting cast - Harry, Chief Brandon, and the Granny Activist Brigade. I'll be checking out the next book in this series shortly and hoping that Ms. Freydont is working on number three right now.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 the him dead at his desk, she becomes the de facto curator of the museum and the brash new police chief's chief suspect. Unfortunately, the author is not nearly as clever as her character and the use of an unfinished Sudoku as a clue falls short.

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is actually one of the first murder mysteries I have ever read. I really enjoyed it. It wasn't gruesome, and I thought the plot went along well. The author does go on some tangents, but I don't think it was overly descriptive. It is a surprise (for me anyway) till the end, because the details are selective.