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Puzzle Lady #10
Dead Man's Puzzle
Sherry is off on her honeymoon when Chief Harper comes to Cora Felton, asking her to solve a crossword puzzle found on the body of Old Man Overmeyer. Small problem. Cora is the Milli Vanilli of cruciverbalists. Her niece, Sherry, writes the crossword puzzle column for her. Cora pokes into Overmeyer’s death, hoping to prove he died of natural causes. She learns the cranky hermit was the sole surviving member of a forty-year-old stock pooling agreement, and before she can say “capital gain,” the town is full of heirs. Complicating things is Sherry’s ex-husband, Dennis, who is playing detective in the hopes of impressing his ex-wife. With Sherry out of town, her restraining order against him is moot, and he is taking full advantage of the fact. Parnell Hall delivers another stellar, puzzle-packed entry in this entertaining series.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published April 14, 2009
11 people are currently reading
335 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
July 8, 2017
Been a while since I read this series, so it took me a moment to get caught up with the characters and their lives. Aaron and Sherry have gone on honeymoon to Africa. Her ex husband is still a pain in the neck. Becky is the town lawyer coming to terms that her ex love is now remarried. With all this going on, Cora is left in charge with a lot of instructions on how to do things.
This book was a quick read, with many LOL moments but how Cora convinces the Chief a natural death is really a murder was murky and I didn't get it. I also didn't get the ending with who did what and why. Still a decent read in a long series.
Some reason I abandon this series but plan on getting current with it.
This book was a quick read, with many LOL moments but how Cora convinces the Chief a natural death is really a murder was murky and I didn't get it. I also didn't get the ending with who did what and why. Still a decent read in a long series.
Some reason I abandon this series but plan on getting current with it.
May 9, 2010
Ugh. Horrible dialogue, somewhat predictable, the only redeeming quality was the crossword puzzles contained in the book.
March 10, 2019
"Sherry is off on her honeymoon when Chief Harper comes to Cora Felton, asking her to solve a crossword puzzle fou8nd on the body of Old Man Overmeyer. Small problem: Cora is the Milli Vanilli of cruciverbalists. Her niece, Sherry, writes the crossword puzzle column.
"Cora pokes into Overmeyer's death, hoping to prove he died of natural causes. She learns that the cranky hermit was the sole surviving member of a forty-year-old stock-pooling agreement, and before she can say 'capital gain,' the town is full of heirs. Complicating things is Sherry's ex-husband, Dennis, who is playing detective in the hopes of impressing his ex-wife. With Sherry out of town, her restraining order against him is moot, and he is taking full advantage of the fact."
~~front flap
Another convoluted mystery with plethoras of suspects and even more possible motives, all delivered in hilarious wordplay:
I dare you to read that paragraph to yourself in a crowded waiting room without bursting into peals of laughter!
"Cora pokes into Overmeyer's death, hoping to prove he died of natural causes. She learns that the cranky hermit was the sole surviving member of a forty-year-old stock-pooling agreement, and before she can say 'capital gain,' the town is full of heirs. Complicating things is Sherry's ex-husband, Dennis, who is playing detective in the hopes of impressing his ex-wife. With Sherry out of town, her restraining order against him is moot, and he is taking full advantage of the fact."
~~front flap
Another convoluted mystery with plethoras of suspects and even more possible motives, all delivered in hilarious wordplay:
" 'Harumph,' said an elderly gentleman in the pack. At least that's what Cora assumed he was saying. The actual noise might have produced by yodeling with a collapsed lung. The man wore a white shirt buttoned to the neck and tan slacks belted to the armpits. He was shorter than Cora, which made him about four-fifths pants."
I dare you to read that paragraph to yourself in a crowded waiting room without bursting into peals of laughter!
January 12, 2021
This is the first Parnell Hall mystery I have completed, and it is very deftly handled in many ways but I also have some issues with it.
First big problem: the protagonist is incompetent. Not only does she not write her own syndicated crossword column, but in the absence of her niece (the actual writer) she cannot figure out how to take out the garbage or even remember not to drink the sour milk that she has not bothered to throw out. I realize that this is supposed to be ironically funny as in the somewhat similar Agatha Raisin mysteries, but it tends to leave me cold. Fortunately there is not a lot of this, though there is A LOT in Hall's Stanley Hastings mysteries, which I haven't been able to get through as yet. This incompetent character trope seems to be a feature of Hall's writing.
Also, the mystery and the puzzles that allow the protagonist to solve it are farfetched and I suspect never could be solved by any reader. (It's the mystery and its connection to the puzzles that are farfetched. The puzzles are easy.)
Of course, this is essentially a "cozy" mystery with a lot of comic action and characters, and a small town setting where everyone knows everyone else, though as mentioned above I think that some elements are overdone even for a cozy.
Over all, I appreciate the positive elements of this book, but I can't take it very seriously.
First big problem: the protagonist is incompetent. Not only does she not write her own syndicated crossword column, but in the absence of her niece (the actual writer) she cannot figure out how to take out the garbage or even remember not to drink the sour milk that she has not bothered to throw out. I realize that this is supposed to be ironically funny as in the somewhat similar Agatha Raisin mysteries, but it tends to leave me cold. Fortunately there is not a lot of this, though there is A LOT in Hall's Stanley Hastings mysteries, which I haven't been able to get through as yet. This incompetent character trope seems to be a feature of Hall's writing.
Also, the mystery and the puzzles that allow the protagonist to solve it are farfetched and I suspect never could be solved by any reader. (It's the mystery and its connection to the puzzles that are farfetched. The puzzles are easy.)
Of course, this is essentially a "cozy" mystery with a lot of comic action and characters, and a small town setting where everyone knows everyone else, though as mentioned above I think that some elements are overdone even for a cozy.
Over all, I appreciate the positive elements of this book, but I can't take it very seriously.
October 27, 2020
This book was too full of witty banter and double entendres and wordplay and etc. etc. I could not help laughing throughout despite the triple murder.....
EX If this was a mystery book plot I would throw the book across the room .... and then hunt down the author and shoot him!
Despite Sherry and Aaron being away from great-aunt/amateur detective and puzzle famous-face Aunt Cora, she manages to tease and Chief Harper, hot lawyer Becky, and the ME (can't remember this name).
EX If this was a mystery book plot I would throw the book across the room .... and then hunt down the author and shoot him!
Despite Sherry and Aaron being away from great-aunt/amateur detective and puzzle famous-face Aunt Cora, she manages to tease and Chief Harper, hot lawyer Becky, and the ME (can't remember this name).
August 20, 2021
Another well done puzzle mystery.
Not too convoluted to make me want to throw the book across the room but enough puzzlement and confusion to keep me hooked
While not as necessarily as much hilarity, I attribute that to Cora's usual counterparts being elsewhere
Definitely another great mystery to add to the collection
Not too convoluted to make me want to throw the book across the room but enough puzzlement and confusion to keep me hooked
While not as necessarily as much hilarity, I attribute that to Cora's usual counterparts being elsewhere
Definitely another great mystery to add to the collection
January 14, 2023
Is it wrong to see Cora becoming slightly more responsible and reliant on others? I liked the dynamic between Cora and Harvey. As well as Cora and the Chief. I enjoyed Sherry not being in the picture all the time and a bit less of Dennis was nice.
September 14, 2017
finished reading in Albequ N.Mexico
May 30, 2018
These books are screaming to be made into a TV series
June 13, 2018
Amusing funny cozy series centered around crossword puzzles.
August 6, 2020
Stories get all confuluted as usual.
May 20, 2021
Love Parnell Hall’s quick wit and dialogue.
December 17, 2022
#10 in this entertaining cozy mystery about a fake crossword ouzzle creator who solves murders.
September 5, 2023
I really enjoyed this mystery. I liked Cora on her own!
May 5, 2009
Crossword puzzle columnist and amateur detective Cora Felton sees her niece, Sherry, off on her honeymoon chasing wildebeests in Africa. Then she immediately becomes involved in a murder investigation. A recluse known as Old Man Overmeyer turns up dead in his rundown cabin with a crossword puzzle lying near his body, along with a gun that was used in a forty-year-old gas station robbery turned deadly. At first, it appears as if he died of natural causes, but Cora insists on an autopsy, and the coroner discovers that Old Man Overmeyer was poisoned.
The last surviving member of a stock pooling agreement, Overmeyer had only one living relative, but the town of Bakerhaven quickly becomes overrun with professional heirs—people who comb the obits looking for someone who died without any known relatives and then swoop in to claim what’s not theirs. Still, Cora and Chief Harper can’t understand why anyone would want to fight over a worthless piece of property. And no one can find the stock pooling agreement, which means the so-called heirs will inherit nothing.
Since Sherry isn’t in town, the restraining order against her ex-husband, Dennis, becomes moot, and he takes full advantage by showing up to complicate matters for Cora and Chief Harper, adding one more suspect to the increasingly long list.
Suspects, motives, and alibis run amuck as Cora tries to help Chief Harper solve a tangled, mind-boggling mystery that makes less and less sense as each clue is uncovered.
I so love a mystery that’s laced with lots of humor and investigated by a quirky amateur detective—and Parnell Hall’s Dead Man’s Puzzle fits the bill perfectly. Cora will send your mind into a fun spin with her hilarious logic, keeping you laughing as you read. I haven’t enjoyed an amateur detective this much since Dorothy Cannell’s Ellie Haskell mysteries.
Author Parnell Hall has created a complex mystery plot that keeps you guessing. I honestly didn’t have a clue as to who committed the murder, but I had a good time trying to figure it out. As the story gets more and more convoluted, it seems impossible that everything will be wrapped up with a plausible explanation. I actually worried that it wouldn’t, but Mr. Hall brings it on home nicely with no loose ends—a skill I greatly admire in an author.
Dazzling, witty, and laugh-out-loud funny, this mystery will keep you entertained and wanting more. You not only get an intricate story, but you also get two to three crossword puzzles to solve right along with the mystery. What fun! I enjoyed the heck out of Dead Man’s Puzzle, and I believe you will, too.
First appeared in NightsandWeekends.com: http://www.nightsandweekends.com/arti...
The last surviving member of a stock pooling agreement, Overmeyer had only one living relative, but the town of Bakerhaven quickly becomes overrun with professional heirs—people who comb the obits looking for someone who died without any known relatives and then swoop in to claim what’s not theirs. Still, Cora and Chief Harper can’t understand why anyone would want to fight over a worthless piece of property. And no one can find the stock pooling agreement, which means the so-called heirs will inherit nothing.
Since Sherry isn’t in town, the restraining order against her ex-husband, Dennis, becomes moot, and he takes full advantage by showing up to complicate matters for Cora and Chief Harper, adding one more suspect to the increasingly long list.
Suspects, motives, and alibis run amuck as Cora tries to help Chief Harper solve a tangled, mind-boggling mystery that makes less and less sense as each clue is uncovered.
I so love a mystery that’s laced with lots of humor and investigated by a quirky amateur detective—and Parnell Hall’s Dead Man’s Puzzle fits the bill perfectly. Cora will send your mind into a fun spin with her hilarious logic, keeping you laughing as you read. I haven’t enjoyed an amateur detective this much since Dorothy Cannell’s Ellie Haskell mysteries.
Author Parnell Hall has created a complex mystery plot that keeps you guessing. I honestly didn’t have a clue as to who committed the murder, but I had a good time trying to figure it out. As the story gets more and more convoluted, it seems impossible that everything will be wrapped up with a plausible explanation. I actually worried that it wouldn’t, but Mr. Hall brings it on home nicely with no loose ends—a skill I greatly admire in an author.
Dazzling, witty, and laugh-out-loud funny, this mystery will keep you entertained and wanting more. You not only get an intricate story, but you also get two to three crossword puzzles to solve right along with the mystery. What fun! I enjoyed the heck out of Dead Man’s Puzzle, and I believe you will, too.
First appeared in NightsandWeekends.com: http://www.nightsandweekends.com/arti...
February 27, 2017
The protagonist is a little annoying and the police procedures are a bit off the rails, but the plot and characterizations are reasonably entertaining.
May 2, 2012
With her cruciverbalist niece Sherry on her honeymoon, Cora Felton is just hoping to lie low and maintain the fiction that she herself is the grandmotherly Puzzle Lady, rather than a hard-boiled amateur investigator who can’t solve a crossword puzzle to save her life. Instead, the police chief presents her with a corpse (her favorite thing!) and its accompanying crossword (her least favorite thing!). Soon an abundance of idiosyncratic heirs, contradictory clues, additional corpses, and unauthorized leaks to the media turn what seemed to be a natural death into utter chaos. Light, speedy, and unabashedly enthusiastic about its frivolous place in the mystery genre.
July 23, 2009
Cora is excited when the police chief tells her about a recent death--she loves nothing so much as a good murder. But the police chief is sure that the 92-year-old victim died a natural death--he's just curious about a cross-word puzzle he found in the dead man's house. Unfortunately, Cora's niece (who is secretly the only person in their family who can do the puzzles) is in Africa on her honeymoon. Cora and the police chief soon learn that there's a lot more behind this puzzle--and death--than meet the eye.
January 3, 2010
This is another fun mystery written about our amateur sleuth, Cora Felton. This time her niece, Sherry is on her honeymoon in Africa and Cora has to fend for herself. Of course there is a murder, which first looks like a death caused by natural causes, since the victim is very old. Cora investigates the death and does discover a few puzzles along the way, which are clues, that lead to the murderer. This is a very enjoyable book that is a quick read and great for taking to the beach. I look forward each year for another puzzle lady mystery.
March 21, 2014
With Sherry out of town on her honeymoon, Cora will have to be pretty creative to solve the latest crossword related murder spree and keep her secret intact. I was happy to see that the character interactions that had grown beyond stale were revitalized here. I hope that continues with the next book in the series.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
March 6, 2016
I liked this book more, and it was funnier, than the last 'puzzle lady' book I'd read. Cora was the main character throughout because Sherry was on her honeymoon. All the characters contributed to the humor in the book, but there's still 'murder a foot'. I confess I don't take time to solve the crossword and Sudoku puzzles along the way. This series is one that I will not read back to back d/t needing a break from the author's humorously distracting dialog.
July 4, 2009
I found this book in my library's overlooked book section and I've never heard of the author before, so it was a great introduction. I absolutely have to go add the other books to this series. I love mysteries and I love the way the puzzle lady takes over the case from the police chief as though it's her right and no one seems to stop her. And the puzzles are an extra bonus for me too.
April 3, 2013
I didn't enjoy "Dead Man's Puzzle" quite as much as the other books I've read in this series. I think the main reason is because Cora's niece Sherry is not in the majority of the novel; she's on her honeymoon with her new husband Aaron. However, Cora is just as feisty as usual and the ending is satisfying.
August 11, 2010
Spotted this author, picked up on a whim as I do crosswords, sudokus, crypograms and any other puzzle I can get my hands on. Not the most fascinating mystery I've ever read -- rather time, a la Murder She Wrote vs. CSI or 24, but still a pleasant enough diversion.
September 8, 2010
Poor Cora! Sherry & Alan have gone off on their honeymoon and Cora has to survive somehow! Of course, a crime has happened and her preferred helpers are gone.
2 Sudoku puzzles & 3 crossword puzzles
The Sudoku on the cover is solvable, solveable?
2 Sudoku puzzles & 3 crossword puzzles
The Sudoku on the cover is solvable, solveable?
January 14, 2013
Loved the story...read really fast...lots of funny dialogue. However at the end I became a little confused with exactly who did what, so that is frustrating, however I will read another of these books to see if it was just me not paying close enough attention or reading too fasr.
August 14, 2015
A lovely beach read. The premise is fun. I'm enjoying this light, fluffy mystery. Not for a hard core. Serious reader. Print.
Didn't finish to the end. It interest when wasn't at the beach. Might try this series again though
Didn't finish to the end. It interest when wasn't at the beach. Might try this series again though
December 23, 2015
I enjoyed the dialog. The author has a great sense of humor. The story was bogged down by the constant replay of possible theories of "who done it". Rather than letting the story flesh out the possible murder candidates, we were told who to consider and why.
Read
June 14, 2009Fun read, loved the play on words !!!
June 23, 2009
Good mystery series and good crossword puzzles.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews