Rating: 
Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: The plot and pace were great so I continued reading to the end but I was really turned off by the main character being a drunk and chain smoker. The author presents that as humorous - I don't get the joke! Certainly he could have found something else to make her "quirky"! I think the series would be far better off without glorifying alcohol and cigarettes!
Rating:
Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: The plot and pace were great so I continued reading to the end but I was really turned off by the main character being a drunk and chain smoker. The author presents that as humorous - I don't get the joke! Certainly he could have found something else to make her "quirky"! I think the series would be far better off without glorifying alcohol and cigarettes!
Rating: 
Summary: Another good puzzle
Review: The second installment in Parnell Hall's Puzzle Lady series finds cruciverbalist Sherry Carter and her bibulous Aunt Cora caught up in another crossword-related crime spree in the small town of Bakerhaven, Connecticut. (Sherry writes a popular syndicated crossword puzzle column, but the puzzles are attributed to her aunt, who is the public face of the "Puzzle Lady.") It turns out that the recently deceased Emma Hurley has stipulated in her will that her prospective heirs undergo a sort of trial-by-puzzle to determine which of the lot will wind up with the largest share of her multi-million-dollar estate. Cora Felton, meanwhile, because of her reputed prowess as a puzzle solver, is named judge of the contest, a highly lucrative if unlikely assignment. As the various greedy and unpleasant heirs discover, Emma Hurley's millions seem to be riding on the successful completion of a crossword. The puzzle is relatively straightforward--suspiciously so, considering the sums involved--but the mystery surrounding the Hurley will is far more complex than any of the principals--the innocent ones, at least--suppose. Before the puzzle ladies can solve the mystery, two corpses, their murders somehow connected to the crossword contest, join Emma's in the local cemetery.Parnell Hall's mysteries are complex enough to keep readers guessing and written with sufficient wit to keep them appreciative. ("Beasley's trip up the stairs was perilous at best. While he did not actually crawl, he did not actually walk, either.") The relationship between Cora and her niece in particular makes for pleasant reading. Hall might tone down Cora's self-destructive tendencies, however: that the grandmaternal "Puzzle Lady" is in reality so unlike her public persona is the principal joke of the series, but one worries about the effect of excessive smoking and drinking on her health. These are not charming or inherently amusing habits. One may note that Colin Dexter's Detective Morse likewise drinks to excess, but Morse's problems with alcohol are not, I think, milked for humor. Perhaps rather for pathos. Crossword lovers and cozy fans--and readers of the Nero Blanc series of crossword mysteries in particular--will enjoy Hall's take on the amateur sleuth genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Cracklin!
Review: This book was cracklin! Really great. It's been a long... LONG time since I've read a book that didn't sag at any point, was fun the whole the way through, and was an all around great read. Cora is really fun, the puzzles are fun. Fast, excellent fun. If you read the first one, stick with it, because it gets better and better.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of fun!
Review: This book will make a great Christmas present for a mystery reader. Parnell Hall did a great job developing the characters as well as the plot. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to solve the puzzle along with the characters. The plot twists and turns provided a lot of excitement. I could not put it down and stayed up into the wee hours of the night finishing it. Overall, it was great fun!
Rating:
Summary: A lot of fun!
Review: This book will make a great Christmas present for a mystery reader. Parnell Hall did a great job developing the characters as well as the plot. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to solve the puzzle along with the characters. The plot twists and turns provided a lot of excitement. I could not put it down and stayed up into the wee hours of the night finishing it. Overall, it was great fun!
Rating:
Summary: Empty calories
Review: This was better than the first in the series! I can't wait to read the next one. Cora Felton and the surrounding characters are interesting people, and the author does a great job showing each person's individual views on the crossword puzzle, and the rules for solving it. I could not put this book down, and I hope the series continues beyond 3 books.
Rating:
Summary: Great Mystery!
Review: This was better than the first in the series! I can't wait to read the next one. Cora Felton and the surrounding characters are interesting people, and the author does a great job showing each person's individual views on the crossword puzzle, and the rules for solving it. I could not put this book down, and I hope the series continues beyond 3 books.
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