The Sudoku Puzzle Murders (Puzzle Lady Series #9) »

Edgar, Shamus, and Lefty nominee Parnell Hall is the author of the Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mysteries, the Stanley Hastings private eye novels, and the Steve Winslow courtroom dramas. An actor, screenwriter, and former private investigator, Parnell lives in New York City.

Cora Felton, the Puzzle Lady (who actually couldn’t solve a crossword puzzle to save her life), is surprisingly good at sudoku, so it’s no problem when a Japanese publisher asks her to write a sudoku book. But when two Japanese publishers show up in Bakerhaven to vie for her services, Cora is a little confused. Which one did she actually sign with? Which one has the stunning geisha wife? And which one is about to be arrested for murder? The two men are archenemies and will go to great lengths to ace out each other. But would they stoop to murder? Someone is littering the town with sudoku, crossword puzzles, and dead private eyes. It’s up to Cora, with the help of her niece, Sherry, to solve the puzzle, the sudoku, and the murder, before the killer strikes again.

Parnell Hall delivers another entertaining, puzzle-packed adventure with his delightfully untraditional sleuth, featuring for the first time sudoku puzzles by New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz.

Publishers Weekly

When a man with half his head sliced off is found behind the abandoned Tastee Freez in Bakerhaven, Conn., near the start of Hall's fast-paced ninth puzzle lady mystery (after 2006's You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled), the chief clue is in the victim's pocket-a clipping from a New York City newspaper containing a sudoku and a crossword puzzle. Coincidentally, the puzzles are the work of "Puzzle Lady" Cora Felton, though Cora's niece, Sherry, secretly composes the puzzles. The two suspects in the murder (committed with a samurai sword) are Japanese publishers, each vying for a book contract for a collection of Cora's sudokus. Quirky characters and humorous dialogue help lighten the somewhat tedious details of the convoluted plot. New York Timespuzzle expert Will Shortz supplies four sudokus for readers to solve. (Apr.)

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