A review by slferg
A Clue for the Puzzle Lady by Parnell Hall
4.0
I ended up enjoying the book - wasn't sure at first. Cora Fenton, the Puzzle Lady, has a puzzle column in several newspapers and lives in a small town with her niece, Sherry Carter. Sherry is a little paranoid because of an abusive ex-husband who keeps finding her and beating her up. Cora's behavior is not what one would expect of a nice, old lady. She drinks too much, gambles and has been married at least 4 times. She is nosey, meddlesome and stubborn. Sherry has her hands full trying to lay low and keep her aunt out of trouble.
A body of an unknown teen-ager turns up at the Bakerhaven cemetery. Police Chief Dale Harper is not happy, not expecting to deal with murders, etc in this quiet town. There is a pice of paper in the girls pocket that reads "4) d - line (5)" that seems to be a puzzle clue. So Chief Harper goes to the Puzzle Lady who lives there in town. Cora loves mysteries and is determined to solve this one, much to the dismay of the Chief who is being bulled by a the prosecutor - who wants SOMEONE to prosecute for this crime and wants the person now! and the local ambitious television reporter who is looking for a story to leverage his way up the ladder to a bigger station. There is also Aaron Grant, a young reporter for the small local paper. He is in on solving the crime much to Sherry's chagrin and keeps coming to see her aunt for ideas, which doesn't help Sherry trying to rein Cora in off the hunt. Then, one of Cora's bridge partners turn up dead in the cemetery - killed the same way. Also with a puzzle clue, but this one is typed - not handwritten. Cora is more determined than ever before the Graveyard Killer can strike again. The most puzzling thing to Cora is the fact that both women's shoes and socks have been removed...
A body of an unknown teen-ager turns up at the Bakerhaven cemetery. Police Chief Dale Harper is not happy, not expecting to deal with murders, etc in this quiet town. There is a pice of paper in the girls pocket that reads "4) d - line (5)" that seems to be a puzzle clue. So Chief Harper goes to the Puzzle Lady who lives there in town. Cora loves mysteries and is determined to solve this one, much to the dismay of the Chief who is being bulled by a the prosecutor - who wants SOMEONE to prosecute for this crime and wants the person now! and the local ambitious television reporter who is looking for a story to leverage his way up the ladder to a bigger station. There is also Aaron Grant, a young reporter for the small local paper. He is in on solving the crime much to Sherry's chagrin and keeps coming to see her aunt for ideas, which doesn't help Sherry trying to rein Cora in off the hunt. Then, one of Cora's bridge partners turn up dead in the cemetery - killed the same way. Also with a puzzle clue, but this one is typed - not handwritten. Cora is more determined than ever before the Graveyard Killer can strike again. The most puzzling thing to Cora is the fact that both women's shoes and socks have been removed...