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Summary
Summary
The Puzzle Lady embarks on another adventure involving one classic movie and featuring new puzzles by Will Shortz
When an elderly boarder at a Bakerhaven bed-and-breakfast drops dead during afternoon tea, there's nothing particularly suspicious about it--except for the Sudoku in his jacket pocket. But when a second body turns up in the window seat and an autopsy shows both men were poisoned with elderberry wine, the Puzzle Lady suspects she's dealing with a cold-blooded killer who for some reason is copying the Cary Grant movie Arsenic and Old Lace, in which two old ladies who run a boarding house poison elderly widowers and bury them in the basement. More murders, more puzzles, and a grave dug in the cellar seem to cement the theory.
Ordinarily, Cora would eat a case like this for breakfast, but for once she can't figure it out. And she's not sure if the clues don't add up, or if the much-married Puzzle Lady is just distracted by being involved in her first romantic entanglement in years.
Arsenic and Old Puzzles is filled with laughs, mayhem, and fun new puzzles by Will Shortz. Mystery and puzzle fans will find much to enjoy in this latest treat from Parnell Hall.
Author Notes
Parnell Hall is a part-time actor, a former private detective, singer/songwriter, and full-time writer of novels and screenplays. He writes the Stanley Hastings Mystery series, the Steve Winslow courtroom drama series, and the Puzzle Lady Mystery series. He also writes under the pseudonym J. P. Hailey. He wrote the screenplay to the 1984 movie C.H.U.D.
Hall co-authored New York Times bestseller Smooth Operator with Stuart Woods.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Feisty Cora Felton, who fronts as the Puzzle Lady for niece Sherry Carter, is at her cantankerous, obfuscating, trouble-stirring best in Hall's delightful 14th Bakerhaven, Conn., romp (after 2012's $10,000 in Small, Unmarked Puzzles). When the body of an unidentified tourist is found at the bed-and-breakfast of elderly sisters Charlotte and Edith Guilford, police chief Dale Harper calls Cora for help with the sudoku puzzle in the tourist's pocket. Cora is no good at puzzles, but quickly notices the smell of almonds, which suggests cyanide and thus foul play. As additional puzzles, bodies, and clues pile up, a connection to the 1944 Frank Capra film Arsenic and Old Lace becomes clear. Even more fun than the whodunit is the romantic confusion Cora sows among pretty lawyer Becky Baldwin; the Guilfords' nephew, Alan; and Alan's girlfriend, Arlene Winnington. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
As might be guessed from the title, this entry in the Puzzle Lady series has a plot reminiscent of the play and the 1944 Cary Grant film, Arsenic and Old Lace. A nephew comes home to visit his aunts, who run a bed-and-breakfast in the Connecticut town of Bakerhaven, with the B&B conveniently located next door to the home of the nephew's heiress girlfriend. An elderly guest dies after drinking poisoned elderberry wine, a nice, genteel sort of crime. The chief of police calls in Cora Felton, the Puzzle Lady, because left with the body is a Sudoku puzzle, and then a crossword puzzle turns up under the doormat. Oddly, though, the crossword is an old one, published in the Puzzle Lady's column some years earlier. More bodies and more old puzzles turn up, and the list of suspects grows, along with echoes of the film. The nephew gets one thing right when he declares that Cora's zaniness rubs off on everyone, to the delight of fans old and new.--Muller, Karen Copyright 2010 Booklist
Kirkus Review
Since every murderer in Bakerhaven, Conn., seems to leave a puzzle with the corpse, Police Chief Harper considers himself lucky that the Puzzle Lady is on hand to solve them. If only he knew. Cora Felton, who's been married at least six times, has started a relationship with the unhappily married Dr. Nathan but covered herself by getting people to think he's romancing local attorney Becky Baldwin. The deception would be impossible for anyone but Cora, the face of a syndicated crossword empire who can't construct or solve crosswords--her niece Sherry is the person who actually creates them--though she's a whiz at sudoku. The latest puzzling victim is a tourist staying at a bed and breakfast run by the elderly Guilford sisters. Always looking to help out Becky, Cora has her represent the sisters and their nephew Alan Guilford, who claims to have just arrived from New York. His girlfriend, Arlene, who lives next door, bursts onto the scene with a crossword she found on the doorstep. Once the crossword is solved, all the clues point to Arsenic and Old Lace, including the exact poison used by the fictional sisters in the well-known play and movie. More bodies and more crosswords add to the confusion. The town drunk is found dead in the Guilfords' window seat. He's followed by one of the sisters, then another couple staying at the BB. Is the logic of the play dictating the killer's actions, or are all the deaths just a coverup for one? Clever, manipulative Cora ($10,000 in Small, Unmarked Puzzles, 2012, etc.) provides laughs and an ingenious mystery along with the obligatory puzzles for those who can't figure out whodunit.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
When a number of old men die suddenly, Cora can't help but notice parallels to the movie Arsenic and Old Lace. This is number 14 (after $10,000 in Small, Unmarked Puzzles) for the Puzzle Lady. Sudokus and crosswords included. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Chapter 1 "So when's she going to walk?" Cora said. Sherry Carter shot an amused glance at Aaron Grant. Jennifer Carter Grant was crawling back and forth from Mommy to Daddy on a beach blanket on the front lawn. Cora Felton was sitting on a lawn chair. Not sitting on the ground was one of the privileges accorded a great-aunt, and Cora was taking full advantage. "She's nine months old," Sherry said. "What's your point?" "Babies walk around a year," Aaron said. "A whole year? That must tire them out." Cora cocked her head. "I don't see why she couldn't start walking. I mean, look at the size of her. You'd never know she was premature." "That's not the type of thing she needs to grow up hearing all the time," Sherry said. "You're going to withhold it from her?" Cora said. "My God, the kid will grow up with a complex. She'll have a therapist before she's five." "Did you ever have a therapist?" Sherry said. "That's a rather personal question. Particularly in front of a young man. Just because he married into the family doesn't mean he gets to share our household secrets." "Secrets?" Aaron said. "You mean you did have a therapist?" "You tell me," Cora said. "Do you think I had a therapist?" Aaron's mouth fell open. That was a loaded question. Any answer would be wrong. "Stop teasing Aaron," Sherry said. "Let the poor guy have some Daddy time." "Oh, you want the wicked stepaunt to go away?" "You're not a stepaunt. You're a great-aunt." "The best," Cora said. "Seriously, what are you going to tell the kid when she asks what that scar on your stomach is?" "You can't even see it," Aaron said. "The doctor was right. It's a bikini cut, and you can't even tell." Sherry wasn't wearing a bikini, she was wearing shorts and a halter top, but the result was the same. The horizontal scar was below the panty line. Sherry smiled. "Are you torturing me because you're bored? Can't stand it when things are quiet?" Aaron grinned. "I think that's it. She's an action junkie. Hasn't had a murder in months, and she's climbing the walls." "I am not," Cora said. "If I never see another murder case, it will be too damn soon." Jennifer reached the edge of the blanket and let out an excited whoop. Daddy headed her off. "Killjoy," Cora said. "There's germs in the grass." Cora mentioned another place germs might hang out. "Cora!" Sherry said. "You are not going to talk that way around the baby." "What, she's going to be offended? She doesn't look offended. Hey, Jennifer. Are you offended with Auntie?" Jennifer didn't answer. "When's she going to talk, anyway?" "She's nine months old," Sherry repeated. "Well, not full sentences, but a good 'Cora,' would be nice." Aaron picked Jennifer up, put her back in the middle of the blanket. "I think she's wet." Sherry dug in the diaper bag. "Care to change the baby, Auntie Cora?" "Certainly not. I'm the aunt, not the nanny. My job is to look proud and brag at PTA meetings." "Oh, my God," Sherry said. "It's not enough you want her walking. You've already got her in school." "Well, you have to plan ahead," Cora said. "If you're not careful, next thing you know she's bringing home some irresponsible bum." Sherry shook her head. "I'm changing her diaper and you've got her dating already." "And as for you, Mommy, I thought having a kid wasn't going to change anything?" "It hasn't." "Oh, no? I've had to send in the last five Puzzle Lady columns myself. And I'm no good at it. I keep screwing up. An editor called and asked what's wrong. I told her I had to send the stuff myself because my secretary had a baby." "You're lucky I don't make you write them," Sherry said. Cora grimaced. While she was the famous Puzzle Lady, whose smiling face graced the nationally syndicated crossword column, in point of fact Cora couldn't solve a crossword puzzle if you gave her the answers. Sherry Carter actually constructed the puzzles. Cora Felton merely lent her name to the project. Aaron's cell phone rang. He flipped it open. "Hello?... Yes, she's right here." Sherry reached for the phone. Aaron shook his head. "No, her." He held it out to Cora. Cora took the phone. "Hello?" "Cora? Chief Harper." "Oh, hi, Chief. What's up?" "I'm out at the Guildford sisters' bed-and-breakfast. Do you know it?" "Can't say that I do." "Fifty-one Elmwood Circle. About a half mile north of town." "What about it?" "Wanna take a ride out there?" "How come?" "Someone died." Copyright © 2012 by Parnell Hall Excerpted from Arsenic and Old Puzzles: A Puzzle Lady Mystery by Parnell Hall All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.