THE PURLOINED PUZZLE

By Parnell Hall

Many authors are writing humorous mysteries these days. But very few are writing laugh-out-loud-so-often-that-you-have-tears-running-down-your-cheeks mysteries. That honor belongs to the one and only, hilarious Parnell Hall, who has held that title for me, along with the late great Joan Hess, for many years.

For those of you who have not yet made the acquaintance of Hall’s protagonist, allow me to introduce you to Cora Felton, known to the general public as the Puzzle Lady, author of a nationally syndicated crossword puzzle column and the grandmotherly face of a best-selling children’s cereal. In reality, her niece, Sherry, is the puzzle genius in the family and Cora is a hard-drinking, chain-smoking woman in her senior years who couldn’t construct or solve a crossword puzzle to save her life. She’s also had more men over the years than should be allowed, and peppers her vocabulary with words that might make the average sailor blush. Cora also packs a gun, and often finds herself the unwanted recipient of crossword puzzles that contain clues leading to a murder.

In “The Purloined Puzzle,” Cora is approached by an annoying teenage girl who claims that she’s found a puzzle and demands that Cora solve it. Cora can’t get rid of the girl, so she suggests involving Harvey Beerbaum, a true crossword constructor, in the fun to get herself off the hook. But the puzzle has been stolen, and a blood-stained knife is found in its place. In no time at all, a body is discovered in the middle of Main Street and Cora has another murder investigation on her hands. The plot really thickens when she finds out her least favorite ex-husband, Melvin, is in town and may have purchased the knife.

Hall places clues to the murder throughout the book in the form of actual crossword puzzles constructed by Will Shortz, New York Times crossword puzzle editor.

“The Purloined Puzzle” is the nineteenth in this delightful series. I loved every single word!