WordLover - Puzzlin' Wednesday |
If you can't get enough just doing word puzzles for fun, how about using one to solve a murder? Parnell Hall, a murder mystery author, did just that with his Puzzle Lady Series. A gambling (okay, she can't find a poker game, so it's only penny-a-point bridge), drinking, frequently married retiree who just happens to look like a sweet little grandmother is the 'face' of the Puzzle Lady column. But she can't solve a crossword to save her life -- or anyone else's. Because people keep turning up dead in her small town, along with crossword puzzle clues that the locals expect 'the Puzzle Lady' to solve. Then things really get crazy!
You will love Cora, the Puzzle Lady and a very unlikely detective. I've read three of Hall's books so far. Nice, short chapters that just keep you diving in and crosswords you can try to fill out and learn the murderer's identity before the final chapter. But who would want to do that and miss all of Cora's crazy antics?
To learn more about the Puzzle Lady series or order a book, visit the site.
Hall's crosswords are constructed by an expert: Trip Payne. Payne is a freelance puzzle maker from Atlanta who's hit the big time: some of his puzzles have been featured in The New York Times. I can't construct a Times puzzle or finish one! Thank goodness he dialed it down a bit for the book's puzzles. Good luck! |
Jodi M. Webb |
| About the author: |
| Jodi has been leading the crazy life of a writer for over a decade--along the way she's had a 6 foot tall ostrich try to eat her camera bag, rode in a medieval cart built by high school students, and held a super-sized gold chain recovered from a shipwreck. Unfortunately the gold chain wouldn't fit in her camera bag or she'd be writing to you from a villa in Italy--not Pennsylvania. When not writing she spends her time reading mysteries and World War II histories and baking cookies.
She's also working on her first book, a mystery that reaches back into World War II for a motive. |
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