You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled (Puzzle Lady Series #8) » (Reprint)

Nominated for the prestigious Edgar, Shamus, and Lefty awards, Parnell Hall is the author of seven previous Puzzle Lady mysteries. He lives in New York City, where he is at work on his next mystery.

When Benny Southstreet, a small-time hustler with a big-time gift for constructing crosswords, accuses Cora of stealing one of his creations, it’s clearly a case of mistaken identity…until Cora’s own attorney files a plagiarism suit against her. To add to the enigma, when Benny is found dead, the police charge Cora with his murder!

At the heart of the matter is the not-so-little white lie Cora has been living for years: assuming the grandmotherly public face of her publicity-shy niece Sherry, who designs crossword puzzles and publishes them under Cora’s name—aka the Puzzle Lady. It turns out that Sherry’s and Benny’s cruciverbalist paths had recently crossed, resulting in the current incriminating conundrum.

As if Sherry’s wedding engagement jitters and a nasty battle over missing antique chairs weren’t enough to deal with, now Cora has to solve the ultimate mystery: how to keep the secret of her identity without losing her life. Because not only does all evidence point to Cora, but someone seems to want her dead. It looks like a riddle with no answer. Luckily for Cora and Sherry, that’s their favorite kind!

Publishers Weekly

Parnell's lighthearted eighth installment in her cruciverbalist series (after 2005's Stalking the Puzzle Lady) finds feisty, grandmotherly Cora Felton charged with plagiarism and murder--accusations she'll have to do some fast talking and sleuthing to defy. But Cora, who poses as the Puzzle Lady while her niece Sherry Carter actually writes the crosswords, prefers solving mysteries to puzzles. So when smalltown crook Benny Southstreet first claims she stole his crossword puzzle (retaining her lawyer in the suit), and then turns up dead, she relishes the challenge. The tangled plot involves stolen antique chairs, incriminating photographs of Cora and her prints on the murder weapon, but the irrepressible heroine emerges unscathed. Hall includes several crossword puzzles that will have fans sharpening their pencils. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.