The Crossword Murder

Crossword Mysteries #1

by Nero Blanc

When colorful crossword editor Thompson C. Briephs turns up dead under mysterious circumstances, private detective Rosco Polycrates joins forces with a beautiful crossword editor from the victim's rival newspaper to find the killer before he or she strikes again, in an entertaining mystery accompanied by six crossword puzzles. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Detective

306 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Joint pseudonym of Cordelia Frances Biddle and Steve Zettler.

Reviews

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thompson C. Briephs, an eccentric crossword puzzle editor, is found strangled to death. The police think it's kinky sex gone wrong, but Rosco Polycrates, a private investigator hired by the victim's mother, soon has reason to believe otherwise. In an effort to understand the victim and his world better, Rosco talks to Annabelle (Belle) Graham, another crossword puzzle editor, and the two find themselves more intrigued by and comfortable with each other than is maybe wise, considering that Belle is married.

Belle suspects that Briephs included a clue about his murderer's identity in one or more of several unpublished puzzles he created prior to his death. Unfortunately, most of the puzzles have gone missing. Even if that weren't the case, each puzzle includes a different name. How are they supposed to narrow things down, especially when several people had a motive for the murder?

This started off okay. Blackmail, murder, and Briephs' odd home, which was designed to be a labyrinth. Rosco had a bit of a noir detective vibe to him, but less hard-edged. Belle was devoted to her work, smart, and beautiful. It was clear, early on, that her marriage was a sore spot for her. If I remember right, her husband was away on an archaeological dig. Belle seemed lonely, but at the same time she and her husband didn't seem to mesh well, right down to Belle not really feeling comfortable in the parts of her house that most featured her husband's decorating touch. It was obvious that the author planned to end Belle's marriage at some point and pair her off with Rosco. I just didn't expect this to progress as quickly as it did, and it didn't sit well with me.

The mystery was okay, but forgettable. I thought that the whole "clue in the crossword puzzles" bit was very contrived, and I'm not sure the logic held together well. It seemed like quite a leap from those puzzles to figuring out the identity of the murderer.

I did really like the labyrinth, though. It made for an excellent location for a tense chase scene involving the killer.

Extras:

Each of Briephs' crossword puzzles is included in the book. I didn't bother to try to solve them because I'm terrible at crossword puzzles at the best of times.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Deanie Nelder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually 3.5 stars

When wealthy crossword puzzle creator Thompson Briephs dies under mysterious circumstances, his mother hires Private Investigator Rosco Polycrates to determine if he was murdered. Polycrates gets assistance from Belle Graham, the crossword editor at the other city paper who notices clues to the murder in the victim's own crossword puzzles.

This is one of the lowest rated books on my TBR list, and I think it's unfairly so. I think this a good, solid start to a new series. Rosco and Belle are interesting characters with chemistry and the mystery has plenty of red herrings to keep readers guessing. Plus, the crossword puzzles are an integral part of the story, and not just an afterthought. This book is interesting enough to have me want to read more of the series.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Crossword Puzzle by Nero Blanc is a 2014 Open Road Integrated Media publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to confess I have never read any of the book by this authors(s). But, since I enjoy a cozy mystery from time to time I thought I would check this one out.

When a wealthy newspaper editor dies suddenly, the official cause of the death is listed as a heart attack. However, the victim's mother is not convinced, so she hires PI Roscoe Polycrates to investigate. He is immediately informed by outside sources that the victim actually died after engaging in a sex game gone wrong, and it would be a kindness to the family if he just let it drop. But, Roscoe was hired to do a job and he intends to see it through.
Needing some insight into the paper's crossword puzzle feature, Roscoe enlist Annabelle Graham, a crossword editor for a different newspaper. It becomes apparent that clues were left in the actual crossword puzzles about to be published, but three of the puzzles have gone missing. The race is on to find the killer before another murder is committed.

Another confession- I love puzzle games, just not crossword puzzles. I rarely ever try to do one. But, this short mystery has an interactive concept I thought was kind of nifty. There is a link inside the digital copy book that will take to the crossword puzzle written out in the book and you can actually work them from there. ( This book was originally published back in 1999 and it is my understanding that the puzzles were placed in paperback copies with the answers in the back of the book)
While I love the idea, and I like seeing unusual words in books, the murder mystery is pretty weak. The banter between Roscoe and Annabelle was often witty, but also odd at times, but it looks like they make a pretty good team.
While there wasn't anything all that memorable about this one it was OK for a little something out of the ordinary. I enjoyed it enough to give it 3 stars.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"FOUR LETTERS, STARTS WITH A 'D'
"That's right, Thompson C. Briephs is dead. D-E-A-D. The body of the flamboyant crossword puzzle editor was found under very suspicious circumstances -- and his grief-stricken mother, a wealthy dowager, has hired private investigator Rosco Polycrates to come up with some answers.

"To understand the victim's death, Rosco needs to understand his life. So he consults with the other crossword editor in Newcastle, Massachusetts -- beautiful and brainy Annabella Craham, who spends her time creating conundrums for the town's rival paper.

"Now this mismatched pair has discovered that five puzzles -- written by Briephs before his death -- may contain the clues that will help them fill in the blanks in this investigation. And they'll need to look everywhere -- including up, down, and across -- to stop the killer from striking again . . ."
~~back cover

Oh this was a grand little puzzle. Sufficiently intricate and intriguing, with the side motif of lust and attraction between Rosco and Bella (who's married). Were both resolved in the end? Oc ourse they were. But not until the very last pages, like any good mystery.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just spent a few happy hours reading about the murder of a flamboyant, pushy, arrogant crossword puzzle editor. Actual crosswords related to the story are included in the book. Do you have to be a crossword solver to enjoy this book? It would help, but it isn’t necessary. I didn’t work the puzzles in the book because they were advanced beyond my skill level. Clues to the murder are given in the story in crossword form, but various characters will explain the clues without you solving the puzzles. The authors also provide puzzle answers in the back of the book. If you are reading a borrowed book, please go to openroadmedia.com to find the crossword puzzles and answers for the entire series. Happy reading!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as a digital ARC from the publisher through Net Galley in return for an honest review.


This is the first book of the Crossword Mysteries written by the couple of writers Cordelia Frances Biddle and Steve Zettler.

The idea used by the authors by making use of the puzzle word is not so original by considering the books written by Herbert Resnicow.

Being a puzzle’s user, I found the proposed puzzles quite confusing once they are used to solve the mystery plot.

A few words a bout the plot itself: Thomas C. Briephs is a rich crossword puzzle editor whose private life is subjected to a constant blackmail.

After his murder, his mother asks the Greek-American private deceptive Rosco to held the investigation.

Through the crossword puzzles, Rosco tries to find some clues to the murder and tries to find out how Annabella Graham, the crossword of another Newcastle paper, could be possible involved in Thomas’ murder.

The narrative is richly filled by dialogues but the authors don’t manage to keep a high level of suspense, on the contrary.

The proposed puzzles are quite confused and it seems they were made by amateurs since they don’t follow the traditional way of make a crossword puzzle.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. But did not take the time to work the crossword puzzles. I just skipped over them. They were important part of the book however. I would have liked the puzzles to be in back of the book for easy finding when I wanted to work them.

There is a lot of quotes, crossword questions and answers throughout the story. I should have bookmarked some of the facts. There is the death of a Crossword Puzzle editor Thompson C. Briephs from the Newcastle Herald.

private investigator Rosco Polycrates is hired by Thompson's mother to find out what happened to her son. Rosco does not know anything about crossword puzzles so he goes to Annabelle Graham crossword puzzle editor for his rival newspaper to learn.

Annabelle sees the crossword that comes out after Briephs death and she works the puzzle and realizes that he is hinting about his own murder. She tries to get people to believe her. They find Briephs had 5 more crossword puzzles with clues in them.

Lots of suspects, a smart mystery I was kept guessing till the reveal. There is some suggestive motives for the murder. but really a clean story in all.

I was given this ebook to read by Net Galley and Open Road Integrated Media

and in return I agreed to give honest review of The Crossword Murder.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent but forgettable crossword murder. Interesting enough to keep you reading but not so intense that you have to think about it much... Of course, my used copy had the crosswords already filled in (wish I'd thought to check before I bought it!), so that might have got me a little more engaged... Will read more of this series, but I think I like the Parnell Hall series better...

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.



This book isn’t for me. It is the noir aspect that doesn’t do it for me. I’m not a fan of noir. It’s the female characters that usually make me cave. I will say that I love the use of words and names. The concept is really interesting. If you like noir and word play, you should enjoy this.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept using someone who constructs crosswords as a detective. Decent series.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #: 9
Title: The Crossword Murder
Author: Nero Blanc
Category: Popsugar Basic: A book mentioned in another book, Mark II
Rating: 3 out of 5

I got this book thru interlibrary loan. The problem is, I don't remember ordering it. :) However, given that I just finished a book on the history of crossword puzzles, I think this book was mentioned and I decided to get it to compare it to Parnell Hall's Puzzle Lady series.

It has it's good points and bad points. Good points: The crossword puzzles are not a side-issue, but part of the plot. You have to solve them to figure out the murder mystery. The plot was well done and the murderer was someone I didn't think did it, but all the clues were there including the puzzles. Bad points: The crossword puzzle constructor bought a new Jaguar with the advance from his newest annual puzzle book. I know just enough about the publishing industry to know that a best-selling author might get an advance that large, but there's no way they're going to offer one that big for a book of pre-published crossword puzzles. Everybody in the story, and I mean everybody, victim, protagonist, love interest, all suspects, have a name that's exactly fifteen letters long. It got to the point that when a new character was introduced, I counted the letters to see
if he was going to be a suspect.

This is actually the first novel in a twelve novel (so far) series. The local library has the second. I'm going to order it just to see how far he carries this out. I may not get the rest of the series. BTW, my local library has this cataloged not only under mystery but under "crossword puzzle makers -- fiction". I clicked on it to see what else was under that category, but it's just Nero Blanc and Parnell Hall. :)

[Kay Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Crossword Murder is the first in a long-running series by Nero Blanc (a husband-and-wife writing team). I downloaded it because (a) I love crossword puzzles, (b) it was the first installment, and (c) it was on sale. I’m not sure it lived up to my expectations. The story was a reasonably engaging mystery, and I particularly enjoyed the budding (but very low key) romance between the two protagonists, private detective Rosco Polycrates and crossword editor Belle Graham. The book includes several crossword puzzles (which can be downloaded and printed from the OpenRoad Media site, but beware—some of the answers on the site are in error, although they are correct in the back of the book), but I found those too much tied into the narrative to be entertaining as independent puzzles.

I enjoyed the book enough to finish it, and if I run across another in the series on sale I may download it, but I’m in no rush to do so.

[Julie Trapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crossword editor Thompson C. Briephs turns up dead, strangled in his own bed. Former cop turned private investigator, Rosco Polycrates, joins forces with Annabella Graham, a crossword editor from the victim's rival newspaper, to find the killer before he or she strikes again. They fill in the blanks of the investigation, accompanied by six crossword puzzles for the reader. {Amazon synopsis}

These crossword puzzles were a treat. The story was enjoyable and the characters likable. Look forward to the other 11 in the series.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Crossword Murder by Nero Blanc is the first book in the Crossword Mysteries series. Private investigator Rosco Polycrates is hired to look into the death of crossword editor Thompson Briephs and with the help of a rival editor, Annabelle Graham, finds that clues to his murder have been left in unpublished crossword puzzles. An interesting mystery with the bonus of interactive crossword puzzles to help with the mystery. I enjoyed the puzzle aspect and Annabelle and Rosco made a great team. I loved learning about crosswords and word clues. A very different cozy mystery.

[Sue Munson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery

This appears to be the first book in a series and I'll look for subsequent books. The story is good with a sufficient number of red herrings and a gentle respectful romance. I liked the main characters and the denouement made sense. There appeared to be adequate justice for the miscreants. An enjoyable read!

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

First in a series. Looking forward to the next one. The crosswords are an interesting addition but not a necessity to complete to enjoy the story. I love crosswords but wanted to keep reading the story more than I wanted to do the puzzle.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenge: RRRCs - Crossword Puzzle Day/mystery (9). Skillful interweaving of clues left by murdered newspaper crossword puzzle editor in his last produced puzzles. Characters are linked together well as an anticipated romance ensues and multiple crimes are solved.

[Cyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

About as well written as Parnell Hall's crossword-themed mystery, but I had a harder time getting involved in this one. Not literary, but entertaining.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extensive vocabulary that complicated the story a bit too much.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stuck in its time it did not age well.

[Jan Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting concept for a book. Since I had a used book, someone did the crossword puzzles already. Solving the crime through crossword puzzles was unique and fun.

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story with good twists and turns. I enjoyed it!

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

First things first. If you want to do the crosswords, but don't want to mark up your book, I finally found them here: http://www.openroadmedia.com/nero-bla... You'll still want to use the solutions in the back of the actual book as the solutions on the site have several errors - and one in one of the crosswords too, come to think of it.

The book itself wasn't great. (Okay, except for seeing the murder victim get his - he was a bit of a douche.) The romance element also felt forced. As a crossword buff I love the concept of a book with puzzles embedded, but I won't be reading the second book.

[Chuck Barksdale · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I want the money, Tommy-Boy.”
Briephs chuckled. “This is fun!” Then he abruptly changed tack. “Listen, pumpkin, you’d better scurry away home if you don’t wish the details of your ‘love life’—or this pathetic blackmail business—made public.”
The visitor seemed to mull over this information. “What do you mean?
“I’ve got my own form of life insurance right here.” Briephs calmly patted the attaché case. “Your name is revealed in my newest collection of puzzles. It’s a little game I’ve been playing with myself—trying to surmise your identity…”
“That’s a lie!”

When Open Road Media offered me the chance to read and review this book through NetGalley, I decided to review it since one half of Nero Blanc is Cordelia Frances Biddle, an author I head recently read and enjoyed (The Conjurer). I also thought the crossword puzzle theme would be interesting although I’m really just an occasional crossword puzzle solver (and not a very good one). I had hoped that since both authors that make up Nero Blanc (Biddle and her husband Steve Zettler) were from Philadelphia that this book would have a local theme, but that was not the case as this book was based in Massachusetts.

Thomson Crane Briephs, a 51 year-old crossword editor of the Newcastle [Massachusetts] Herald taunts his blackmailer, thinking he was safe by hiding his name in future crosswords, but unfortunately for him, his blackmailer becomes his killer. The reader is given this information but, Roscoe Polycrates, the private investigator hired by Brieph’s mother, must try to gather clues to convince the police that Briephs was murdered and not a victim of an accidental sex-related death. In the course of his investigation, Polycrates contacts Annabelle Graham, a crossword editor for another local paper, to see what she knows about Briephs. Graham is very interested in helping and she soon realizes that a crossword that Briephs wrote that is published after his death may contain clues to his death. Polycrates and Graham work together to gather more and more clues.

In reading this book, the first in the series, it seemed to me to have a more dated feel than just a book written in the 1990s. This is not to be critical but more a reflection of the narrative style and the type of romance that starts to develop between Roscoe Polycrates and the married Annabelle Graham. The feel is more 1950s Agatha Christie than the more direct confrontations and reomance you see in current writing and film. As someone not in that life at all, I’m not sure if current books and movies are reflecting the new times or are just be a bit more realistic, or both. In any event, this did give the book a different feel than I’m used to in reading modern books.

Although I read this book on my kindle, a link was provided to get the crossword puzzles and answers so they could be printed and solved. I did get them and looked them over, but really didn’t do much of them. You certainly need to read the book to be able to solve them and they weren’t easy so I quickly became uninterested. I’m sure someone who is more of a crossword puzzle and mystery book solver would enjoy doing them.

[DelAnne Frazee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: The Crossword Murder - Crossword Mystery 1
Author: Nero Blanc
Published: 10-14-2014
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
Pages: 323
Genre: Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense
Sub Genre: Amateur Sleuth;
ISBN: 97814976716783
ASIN: B00N2CLU16
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley
Rating: 4 Stars

.
Rosco Polycrates is hired to investigate the murder of Thompson Briephs the eccentric member of the Briephs aristocracy and nephew of Senator Hal Crane. Thumbing his nose at his mother, Sara's more traditional family lifestyle. Thompson lived on a island and lived in a massive labyrinth style home. Anticipating his eminent demise, Thompson, the Crossword developer for the Herald, left numerous clues behind for someone to decipher and follow to the one who killed him.



I thought this would be something like the Puzzle Lady Mysteries. It took a moment to shift gears and see it for the fun read that it is in its own right. Rosco and Annabell Graham's relationship is a bit complex but you can't help but hope there is a way they can end up together. The plot is well thought out and flows smoothly except for two hiccups where the book stalls for a few paragraphs, but quickly picks up pace again. My rating is 4 out of 5 stars. There are a few puzzles for the reader to enjoy and try their hand at.



Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N2CLU16/...



Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-c...



GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...



The Reading Room link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book in the series. Not a bad book to start a series off with, just hope it keeps developing the main characters into more than just romance.

When the crossword puzzler writer for one of the town's newspaper is murdered, at first it is mistakenly labeled as an accidental death. His momma knows better. She hires a private investigator to look into the matter and right away he is warned off the case. Now Polycrates is not familiar with the newspaper business or crossword puzzles for that matter so he goes to the rival paper and decides to see if their crossword puzzle writer could be a suspect or a good source of information. Well she is quickly ruled out as a suspect but she is a danger in a completely different way. Polycrates is attracted to her and she is married. Not a good combination especially since she feels the attraction herself. She believes the last five crossword puzzles the murder victim wrote will tell who the killer is but Polycrates is not sure that is where the answer lies. With a list of suspects that seems to be never ending, can they figure out who did it Or will the killer cross them out to keep his/her identity a secret.

Enjoyable cozy mystery especially if you like crossword puzzles. The characters are likeable and you can feel the tension between them as they avoid their growing attraction to each other or rather try to avoid it. The romance seem to play a large part in this story and at times it made the who-dun-it part a little harder to keep track of during the story,. You get a sense of who the killer is but the reasoning does not come out until the end. Will give the next book in the series a chance just to see where it will lead.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Crossword Murder is the first book in the Crossword Mysteries series by husband wife team Cordelia Biddles & Steve Zettler, who write under the pseudonym Nero Blanc. I've had it for awhile and am glad that I finally read it.
PI Rosco Polycrates of Newcastle, Mass, is hired by the mother of Thompson Briephs to look into his death, as she thinks he was murdered. Briephs works as the crossword puzzle editor for the local paper and also leads a seamy life. As is quickly shown, he is being blackmailed for something and this blackmailer might have been the murderer.
Polycrates, an ex-police investigator, looks into the death and trying to get a handle on this crossword business, asks for assistance from the editor of a rival paper, Annabella Graham. Together they continue the investigation, working through clues from a series of unpublished puzzles left by Briephs. Someone doesn't like their investigation and there are threats to Graham's life.
There is a developing relationship between Polycrates and Graham, one that they both resist, as she is married.
The investigation is interesting, the puzzle aspect a unique mystery technique. I liked both characters and how the story developed. It's definitely a cozy style mystery, reminding me somewhat of Lilian Jackson Braun's 'Cat Who... ' mysteries. Most enjoyable and a fun read. I'll keep on with this series. (3 stars)

[Zeb Kantrowitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The crossword puzzle editor of the local newspaper is found dead in his home. He’s been strangled, and the death has been made to look like it happened during a sexual encounter. Who would kill him? The answers are in the last five puzzles he created, but the last three are missing. It’s up to a local PI named Rosco Polycrates and the Annabelle Graham, the editor of the other local newspaper to follow the clues.

Thompson C Briephs was known for the wild/strange parties that he through at his family’s private island. Visits to the island were by invitation only, and most of the invitees were known to be members of the local sex trade. Could one of them have killed him during rough sex-play, or could it have been a blackmail scheme gone wrong?

As Roscoe and Annabelle go about questioning the local demi-monde and Thompson’s friends and family, the missing puzzles begin to show up. The answers on some of the puzzles seem to point to certain people. But, can they know the full truth without having all of the puzzle clues?

Though this is not a true murder mystery, it does give the author a chance to slip in six puzzles which should help the reader guess the murderer. This is a different kind of novel that is more to the taste of a puzzle enthusiast than to a mystery reader.

Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com

[Njkinny (Njkinny's Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Crossword Murder by Nero Blanc is the first book by the author that I have read and this one was definitely a different kind of mystery.

Involving a lot of crossword puzzles that are skillfully used in solving the mystery, this book exercised my mind. However, some puzzles were very difficult and I had to skip them so later I thought, it would have been better had the author given these puzzles at the end of the book too so I could come back, easily find them and solve at my leisure.

The plot is pretty clean but has some very calculated twists and turns. The author's writing style is engaging and I was left speculating the solution till the end.

All in all, The Crossword Murder by Nero Blanc is a mystery that will have you working to solve the case by solving puzzles to get the next clue. 3.5 out of 5 to it and recommended to all mystery and crossword lovers.

I received the book from the publishers via Netgalley and I am very thankful to them. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.
Read this review and others on: http://www.njkinnysblog.com/

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed The Crossword Murder. I found Rosco and Bella likable and reasonably intelligent. I was surprised that the authors chose to have a married woman team up with Rosco and for sparks to fly, though romance is a very small element in the story. Bella's husband's reading materials provides some insight into what Tommy may have been into as well as sex games, but the authors could have easily had Bella be single and find the information in a different way. Not that her being married and a romance brewing between the characters was distasteful, it's obvious that things aren't good between Bella and her husband.

There were lots of elements in the story line, some which may have been a bit more novel for a main stream mystery (BDSM) when the book was first published in 1999. I have read one or two crossword puzzle mysteries in the past, but there are so few, this seemed fresh to me. I liked the variety of entwined elements and possible motives for killing: politics, sex, family, money and crime.

I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.