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.
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.
PARNELL HALL has been an actor, screenwriter, and singer/songwriter. He is a former president of the Private Eye Writers of America and a member of Sisters in Crime. He has been a finalist for an Edgar, two Lefty, and three Shamus Awards. Parnell lives in New York City.
"Puzzle-master Hall again produces a clever whodunit laced with humor and an amateur sleuth at once endearing and infuriating. Readers will have fun filling in the squares of this rollicking mystery." --Richmond Times-Dispatch "Cora's zaniness rubs off on everyone, to the delight of fans old and new." --Booklist "Feisty Cora Felton...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)." --Publishers Weekly "Clever, manipulative Cora provides laughs and an ingenious mystery along with the obligatory puzzles for those who can't figure out whodunit." --Kirkus Reviews
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.
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