Cora Felton is the kind of dame your father might have called "a firecracker": a not-so-upstanding lady of a certain age who drinks her martinis by the shaker and delights in scandalizing not only the staid denizens of her cozy Connecticut village but also her niece Sherry, who's the private "ghost" behind Cora's public image as the Puzzle Lady. Even People Magazine, which has lined up an interview with Cora, believes the brazen old broad is the brains behind her phenomenally successful syndicated crossword puzzle column. Only Sherry and the ambitious young newspaper reporter who loves her know that Cora hasn't got a clue. Certainly, Emma Hurley didn't, which may explain why she left Cora in charge of sorting out her will, a puzzle wrapped in a 40-year-old enigma whose solution will earn one of Emma's heirs a vast fortune. The relatives are a motley lot, greedy and unappealing, but would any of them stoop to murder? When the bodies start piling up, it certainly looks that way, especially to Cora, who's better at judging human nature than word contests. While the answers to the crossword lead everyone else to the wrong conclusions, they point Cora and Sherry to the right ones and target a murderer in the process. The pace rollicks along nicely, the crossword's deceptively transparent, and this is a slight but charming little treat for the puzzle mavens on your Christmas list, especially those who've encountered Cora and Sherry in their first adventure, (A Clue for the Puzzle Lady). --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
The second puzzle for Cora Felton (following A Clue for the Puzzle Lady) is even better than her clever debut. Although nationally syndicated columnist Cora is known as the "Puzzle Lady" to her Bakerhaven, Conn., neighbors, it's actually her brainy niece, Sherry Carter, who creates the famous crossword puzzles attributed to Cora. With a grandmotherly appearance that belies the oft married, cigarette-smoking, hard-drinking reality beneath, Cora fancies that her forte is solving mysteries. And Sherry's reticence and desire to shun the spotlight hides a puzzle constructor of the first rank. Their respective skills get a real test when wealthy, eccentric Emma Hurley dies and leaves a will that requires her potential heirs to compete in a puzzle-solving contest. She has furthermore appointed Cora final judge and arbiter. The assembled heirs-in-waiting are a motley lotAfrom obnoxious battling twins, Phyllis and Philip, to hermit-like Chester and disaffected young nephew Daniel. Reporter Aaron Grant returns as a romantic foil for Sherry, though things keep getting in the way of their budding amour. Edgar nominee Hall, a master of wordplay himself, has great fun as bloodletting and other forms of skullduggery complicate the search for clues and answers to a 40-year-old puzzle. The bantering affection between irrepressible Cora and shy Sherry, the antics of Emma's kin and a bit of murder and mayhem allow Hall to mask the puzzle's solution to the very end. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In a suburban town in Connecticut, Cora Felton has some small measure of notoriety as the Puzzle Lady, reputed constructor of syndicated crosswords. The much married and generally alcoholic Cora, though, is a front for her niece Sherry, the real cruciverbalist. Sherry keeps up the ruse and tries to keep Cora from trouble, but it's not easy when Cora has just been named judge of a bizarre scheme set up by a wealthy and newly deceased widow. Her heirs--a scurvy lot--stand to inherit only if they can solve the crossword puzzle she left. That puzzle leads to a cryptic scavenger hunt and then to the reddest of herrings, while the murders pile up. Cora, when sober, is feisty and sharp, a foil to the emotionally wounded but diligent Sherry. Heavier on the cruciverbalist angle than A Clue for the Puzzle Lady , this novel's puzzles within puzzles will charm and so will its attractive cast. GraceAnne A. DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“[An] homage to the very entertaining, breezy mind-game mysteries of the 1930s and ’40s. Enjoy the show!”
— Los Angeles Times

“A witty, airy, and busy detective story ... filled with love triangles, false leads, and danger ... Fun from the first page.”
— The Dallas Morning News

“This series is a joy for lovers of both crosswords and frothy crime detection.”
— Chicago Sun-Times


Don’t miss the first Puzzle Lady Mystery:

A Clue for the Puzzle Lady

and

Puzzled to Death

Coming soon in hardcover from Bantam Books


Review
?[An] homage to the very entertaining, breezy mind-game mysteries of the 1930s and ?40s. Enjoy the show!?
? Los Angeles Times

?A witty, airy, and busy detective story ... filled with love triangles, false leads, and danger ... Fun from the first page.?
? The Dallas Morning News

?This series is a joy for lovers of both crosswords and frothy crime detection.?
? Chicago Sun-Times


Don?t miss the first Puzzle Lady Mystery:

A Clue for the Puzzle Lady

and

Puzzled to Death

Coming soon in hardcover from Bantam Books


Book Description
It’s no mystery why readers love the Puzzle Lady, Miss Cora Felton, the eccentric amateur detective who keeps everyone guessing as she keeps herself in the thick of trouble. Find out why critics agree that “Cora is emerging as a lovable and unique sleuth” (Chicago Sun-Times) in “a fun series for mystery fans and cruciverbalists” (USA Today).

Wealthy widow Emma Hurley died with only her servants at her side — but after she passes away, her greedy heirs crawl out of the woodwork to stake a claim in Emma’s fortune. To their surprise, Emma was not content to leave behind a simple will. Instead, her final testament includes a clever puzzle ... one to be given only to her living heirs.

The first one to solve the puzzle will inherit Emma’s entire estate; everyone else will be left with a pittance. The will also stipulates that Cora Felton — local celebrity and famed author of a popular syndicated crossword puzzle column — must referee the contest.

Unfortunately, it’s Cora’s niece, Sherry Carter, who is the brains behind Cora’s “Puzzle Lady” persona. And it’s up to Sherry to unravel the bizarre riddle Emma Hurley engineered before her death. For soon it’s plain that Emma’s game is one without a clear winner ... and that the players could lose far more than they ever imagined!



From the Inside Flap
It’s no mystery why readers love the Puzzle Lady, Miss Cora Felton, the eccentric amateur detective who keeps everyone guessing as she keeps herself in the thick of trouble. Find out why critics agree that “Cora is emerging as a lovable and unique sleuth” (Chicago Sun-Times) in “a fun series for mystery fans and cruciverbalists” (USA Today).

Wealthy widow Emma Hurley died with only her servants at her side — but after she passes away, her greedy heirs crawl out of the woodwork to stake a claim in Emma’s fortune. To their surprise, Emma was not content to leave behind a simple will. Instead, her final testament includes a clever puzzle ... one to be given only to her living heirs.

The first one to solve the puzzle will inherit Emma’s entire estate; everyone else will be left with a pittance. The will also stipulates that Cora Felton — local celebrity and famed author of a popular syndicated crossword puzzle column — must referee the contest.

Unfortunately, it’s Cora’s niece, Sherry Carter, who is the brains behind Cora’s “Puzzle Lady” persona. And it’s up to Sherry to unravel the bizarre riddle Emma Hurley engineered before her death. For soon it’s plain that Emma’s game is one without a clear winner ... and that the players could lose far more than they ever imagined!


From the Back Cover
“[An] homage to the very entertaining, breezy mind-game mysteries of the 1930s and ’40s. Enjoy the show!”
— Los Angeles Times

“A witty, airy, and busy detective story ... filled with love triangles, false leads, and danger ... Fun from the first page.”
— The Dallas Morning News

“This series is a joy for lovers of both crosswords and frothy crime detection.”
— Chicago Sun-Times


Don’t miss the first Puzzle Lady Mystery:

A Clue for the Puzzle Lady

and

Puzzled to Death

Coming soon in hardcover from Bantam Books



About the Author
Parnell Hall is the author of the critically acclaimed Stanley Hastings mystery novels and the Steve Winslow courtroom dramas, and has been nominated for the Edgar, the Shamus, and the Lefty Awards. His first Puzzle Lady mystery was A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, and he is currently at work devising his third, Puzzled to Death. He lives in New York City.


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Sherry Carter was happy. She ran her hand through her hair, pushed the bangs off her forehead, tugged at her earlobe, and smiled across the table at Aaron Grant.

The young reporter was wearing a sports jacket with his shirt collar unbuttoned and the knot of his tie pulled down. His brown hair was wavy and slightly mussed. And he was clean shaven — it occurred to Sherry he was always clean shaven, very clean shaven, almost as if he was too young to shave.

“How’s your soup?” Aaron asked.

Sherry barely heard him. “Huh?”

“How’s your gazpacho?”

“Oh. It’s okay.”

“I could have warned you,” Aaron said. He gestured with his spoon. “Chicken soup you can’t go wrong. Anything else you take a chance.”

“I said it was okay.”

Aaron smiled. “Yes, you did. But okay is not a word of praise. It is an equivocation, indicating a reluctance to make a value judgment. And implying a less than favorable assessment.”

Sherry tried to scowl, but made a poor job of it. Her eyes twinkled. “Does everything with you have to be wordplay?”

“Not at all,” Aaron replied. “Just look me in the eye and tell me the truth — your gazpacho is barely adequate, and you could make much better yourself — which I am quite sure is a fact — and I would do nothing but agree.”

“Oh, you like women who brag about their accomplishments?”

“Who said anything about women? I like people who are straightforward. Sex doesn’t enter into it.”

“That’s for sure.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Does that happen to you often?”

“What?”

“That sex doesn’t enter into it?”

“Now who’s indulging in wordplay?”

“I wasn’t,” Sherry replied. “I was just looking you in the eye and telling you the truth.”

Aaron Grant laughed. Sherry laughed back. They found themselves leaning on their elbows, smiling at each other.

Aaron and Sherry were having lunch at the Wicker Basket, a small family restaurant on Drury Lane, just off Main Street in Bakerhaven, Connecticut. The restaurant was a step up from the local diner, featuring tables, not booths, with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths and linen napkins. It was a quiet, homey place, and while the food was nothing special, on this occasion the atmosphere was more important.

It was their first date.

And by Aaron and Sherry’s standards, it was going well. Even if they had taken refuge in the safety of wordplay. Both were linguists. Aaron was a writer, Sherry was a crossword-puzzle constructor, and as such they were highly competitive. Sherry loved sparring with Aaron, loved having an intellectual equal who was capable of giving it back as good as he got it. Bantering with Aaron Grant was a treat.

It was also safe.

It kept Sherry from exposing herself, from opening up, from talking about the things that really mattered. Like their relationship, for instance, and where it was going.

There were lots of things unsaid.

Sherry was older than Aaron. Just a few years, but with an unsuccessful marriage to her credit. Aaron was only a year out of college and still lived with his parents, which made him seem young on the one hand, and precluded him inviting her up to his room on the other. Or so Sherry imagined. Their relationship hadn’t gotten to that point yet.

For her part, Sherry lived with her aunt. And while the much-married Cora Felton couldn’t have cared less if Sherry had invited Aaron over — on the contrary, from the start Cora had been the one pushing the relationship — Sherry still would have felt inhibited by her presence.

So they really had nowhere to go.

As if that weren’t enough impediment to the relationship, Sherry had one more stumbling block.

Sherry’s aunt, Cora Felton, was famous. She was known as the Puzzle Lady, both for her national TV ads and for her syndicated crossword-puzzle column. Two hundred and fifty-six newspapers carried that column, including Aaron’s paper, the Bakerhaven Gazette. Cora Felton’s beaming face appeared in the Gazette every morning.

That in itself would not have been a problem, but Cora Felton didn’t write the crossword-puzzle column.

Sherry did.

Cora Felton merely provided the image. Her face was Sherry’s conception of what the Puzzle Lady should be. Which apparently was everybody else’s, for the Puzzle Lady puzzles were wildly popular.

At the moment, this too was complicating Sherry Carter and Aaron Grant’s relationship.

Aaron knew Sherry was the Puzzle Lady.

Sherry didn’t know he knew it.

Aaron had found out while covering the Graveyard Killings, as the Bakerhaven murders had come to be known, figured it out himself and then finessed a confirmation out of Cora Felton, who couldn’t stand up to his cross-examination. Cora had left the task of telling Sherry up to him. So far he hadn’t gotten around to it.

Though, Aaron realized, that wasn’t quite the case. In fact, it wasn’t the case at all. It wasn’t that he hadn’t gotten around to it. Aaron wanted to tell Sherry more than anything. It was one of the reasons he’d invited her to lunch. And yet, he still hadn’t told her.

Because, more than anything, he wanted her to tell him.

It really bothered him that she hadn’t. That after all they’d been through together, she didn’t trust him enough to let him know. Not that Aaron couldn’t make allowances. He knew Sherry had suffered at the hands of her alcoholic ex-husband. But he knew that from Cora, not from Sherry. And he wanted to hear the truth from Sherry badly, so badly he was holding off telling her just to give her the opportunity.

But he could not hold out long. Aaron had made up his mind. If Sherry hadn’t told him by the end of lunch, that was it. He’d give in and speak first. Not that he thought he’d have to. From her manner, he had a feeling she was about to tell him.

And she was.

As Sherry Carter sat in the Wicker Basket, smiling across the table at Aaron Grant, she felt at peace with the world. Because she knew she could tell him, and it would be all right. She could tell him about being the real Puzzle Lady. And she could tell him about her abusive ex-husband. And Aaron would understand. In spite of his jovial manner, in spite of his never taking anything seriously, Aaron was basically a good guy, and he would take it the right way. He might joke, sure, but it would be a friendly joke, a supportive joke, an accepting joke. He would put her at her ease.

Sherry was sure of it.

So why was she hesitating?

She wasn’t.

She would tell him now.

Sherry put her hands on the table, opened her mouth to speak, and —

Stopped.

Aaron Grant wasn’t looking at her. He was looking past her. The expression on his face was hard to read. Surprise, yes, but beyond that. Was it a pleasant surprise? It was hard to tell. But he appeared to be blushing. What was he looking at?

A figure appeared in Sherry’s peripheral vision and bore down on their table. Sherry looked up, frowned.

It was a young woman in a purple pants suit. Her blond hair was sculpted, curling down the side of her head in a casual, careless swoop that Sherry knew took patience to perfect. She was in her mid-twenties, but looked older, without looking old. She also looked sophisticated without looking sharp, stylish without looking styled. She looked intelligent, competent, totally self-assured. A woman who knows precisely what she wants. And knows exactly how to get it. That was Sherry’s first impression.

Stunning.

Totally stunning.

Aaron seemed stunned. He gawked at the woman, apparently incapable of speech.

She smiled. “Hi, Aaron.”

“Becky,” he murmured.

Then he was smiling and on his feet, totally recovered and performing introductions. “Sherry, this is Becky Baldwin. Becky, this is Sherry Carter. She’s the woman who helped solve the murder case.”

Becky Baldwin smiled and arched an eyebrow. “Really? I don’t recall reading that in the paper.”

“No,” Sherry said, matching her smile. “Aaron was nice enough to keep me out of it.”

“Oh, really? You didn’t want the credit? How modest of you. And how fascinating. You mean you actually solved these crimes?”

“No, I did not,” Sherry said. “And if you don’t mind, I would appreciate your not giving everyone in the restaurant the impression that I did.”

“Oh, was I talking too loud?” Becky Baldwin said, innocently. “I’m sorry. Occupational hazard.”

“Don’t tell me. You’re a cheerleader.”

Becky laughed. “I’m a lawyer.”

“You passed the bar?” Aaron said. “Congratulations.”

“A lawyer,” Sherry said. “So, you’re here to start a private practice?”

“Hardly,” Becky answered. “Bakerhaven’s not big enough to support another lawyer. I’m interviewing with some firms in Boston.”

“So you’re just passing through?” Sherry said. It bothered her how relieved she was to hear it.

“Yes, this is a hit-and-run,” Becky said. “Check in with my folks. Pack up some of my stuff.” She smiled at Aaron. “Look up old friends. Oh, and what do you do?” she asked Sherry.

It was clearly an afterthought. Never had Sherry’s impulse been so strong to tell someone she wrote a nationally syndicated crossword-puzzle column. She restrained it. “I teach school.”

“Oh, a schoolteacher. So you’re off for the summer?”

“Actually, I’m off most of the time. I’m a substitute teacher. I only go in when they call me.”

“Oh, a substitute. That must be stressful.” Becky smiled at Aaron. “I remember the trouble we used to give substitutes.”

“At age three?” Sherry said.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I teach nursery school. Three-year-olds are not so rebellious.”

“Oh,” Becky Baldwin said.

The conversation ground to a halt.

Sherry wanted to ask, “When are you leaving?” but knew it would sound catty. She was relieved when Aaron asked it for her.

Until she heard Becky’s answer.

“I don’t know. I have a case to handle first.”

“A case?” Aaron said. “You’re kidding. How could you have a case?”

“I dropped by Arthur Kincaid’s law office to tell him I passed the bar, and he asked me if I’d handle something for him.”

“How come?”

“I don’t know. Some sort of conflict of interest where technically he’s retained on the other side.” Becky Baldwin pointed to a paper bag a waitress had just placed beside the cash register. “Anyway, I’m picking up salad to go, and having lunch with Arthur. He’s gonna brief me for the prearraignment, then I gotta get over to the courthouse and bail out my client.”

“What’s the case?” Aaron Grant asked.

Becky waved the question away. “Oh, it’s nothing. Town drunk broke into a house, was found passed out in bed. Hardly the crime of the century. Shouldn’t take long. Well, enjoy your lunch.”

Becky Baldwin paid for her salad, smiled, waved, and went out the door.

“Nice woman,” Sherry said.

“Uh huh,” Aaron said.

That was their entire conversation regarding Becky Baldwin. Still, her presence seemed to linger. The atmosphere certainly wasn’t the same as before she’d appeared.

Good intentions vanished.

Sherry didn’t confess to Aaron she was the Puzzle Lady, and Aaron didn’t confess to Sherry he knew.

They finished their lunch.

It was perfectly amiable.

And wholly unsatisfying.

FROM OUR EDITORS

An eccentric widow has the last laugh, when she leaves her will and testament in puzzle form for her greedy heirs to solve.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Emma Hurley died the way she lived—surrounded by an air of mystery, with only her servants at her side. That is, until she finally passes away...and her greedy heirs crawl out of the woodwork to stake a claim to Emma's fortune. But unlike most people, Emma was not content to leave behind a simple will. Instead, her final testament includes, of all things, a clever puzzle...one to be given only to her living heirs. The first one to solve the puzzle will inherit Emma's entire estate; everyone else will be left with a pittance.

Complicating matters further, the will stipulates that Cora Felton—local celebrity and famed author of a popular syndicated crossword puzzle column—must referee the contest. Unfortunately, Cora knows far more about the fine art of mixing a martini than creating—let alone solving—crossword puzzles. It's Cora's niece Sherry who's the brains behind Cora's "Puzzle Lady" persona. And it's up to Sherry to unravel the bizarre riddle Emma Hurley engineered before her death. For soon it's plain that Emma's game is one without a clear winner...and that the players could lose far more than they ever imagine.

Before long, would-be heirs are scouring every nook and cranny of the town as they scramble to solve a forty-year-old puzzle, while the Puzzle Lady herself adds to the chaos with her less-than-sobering antics. Meanwhile, Sherry has some pressing problems of her own: Her romantic interest in a mild-mannered local reporter is turning into an unpleasant love triangle—one that involves a glamorous young lawyer. And when one of the participants in Emma's contest is knifed to death, the last thing Sherry needs is amorous advances—especially when they're coming from the number one suspect in the crime.... Last Puzzle & Testament is a devilish concoction of gamesmanship, malice, and mystery for anyone who loves a puzzle—across, down, or any way around!

About the Author:
PARNELL HALL is the author of the critically acclaimed Stanley Hastings mystery novels and the Steve Winslow courtroom dramas, and has been nominated for the Edgar, the Shamus, and the Lefty Awards. His first Puzzle Lady mystery was A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, and he is currently at work devising his third, Puzzled to Death. He lives in New York City.

SYNOPSIS

Parnell Hall's first Puzzle Lady mystery, A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, was hailed as "devious and delightful" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "heaven for crossword puzzle fans" (Kirkus Reviews). Now, Hall brings back his two unforgettable sleuths, Miss Cora Felton and her long-suffering niece, Sherry Carter, in another irresistible tale of greed, murder, and mystery most puzzling.

FROM THE CRITICS

USA Today

A fun series for mystery fans and cruciverbalists!

Publishers Weekly

The second puzzle for Cora Felton (following A Clue for the Puzzle Lady) is even better than her clever debut. Although nationally syndicated columnist Cora is known as the "Puzzle Lady" to her Bakerhaven, Conn., neighbors, it's actually her brainy niece, Sherry Carter, who creates the famous crossword puzzles attributed to Cora. With a grandmotherly appearance that belies the oft married, cigarette-smoking, hard-drinking reality beneath, Cora fancies that her forte is solving mysteries. And Sherry's reticence and desire to shun the spotlight hides a puzzle constructor of the first rank. Their respective skills get a real test when wealthy, eccentric Emma Hurley dies and leaves a will that requires her potential heirs to compete in a puzzle-solving contest. She has furthermore appointed Cora final judge and arbiter. The assembled heirs-in-waiting are a motley lot--from obnoxious battling twins, Phyllis and Philip, to hermit-like Chester and disaffected young nephew Daniel. Reporter Aaron Grant returns as a romantic foil for Sherry, though things keep getting in the way of their budding amour. Edgar nominee Hall, a master of wordplay himself, has great fun as bloodletting and other forms of skullduggery complicate the search for clues and answers to a 40-year-old puzzle. The bantering affection between irrepressible Cora and shy Sherry, the antics of Emma's kin and a bit of murder and mayhem allow Hall to mask the puzzle's solution to the very end. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Internet Book Watch - Internet Book Watch

Everyone in the small town of Bakerhaven, Connecticut is familiar with local celebrity Cora Felton. Better known as the Puzzle Lady, her syndicated crossword puzzles appear in over two hundred and fifty newspapers across the nation. There is a secret concerning Cora that very few people in town know. The cigarette smoking, hard drinking woman does not write the crossword puzzle column. Her niece Sherry Carter does because the young woman thinks that Cora fits the image of the Puzzle Lady. When eccentric and wealthy Emma Hurley dies, all her heirs gather together to learn they are to participate in a series of puzzle solving. If the person gets the puzzle right, as judged by Cora Felton, they receive more puzzles. The first person to solve the entire puzzle will gain the whole fortune. The avaricious relatives will go to any lengths to see that they are first and they do so with the murder of one participant. Since the pair was so successful at solving Bakerhaven's last homicide, Cora and Sherry turn detective. Parnell Hall is an excellent storyteller who knows how to entice his readers into wanting to buy and read his puzzling and exciting works as soon as they come out. The puzzles included in each novel make the reader feel like part of the story and that makes them want to finish the book in one sitting. The well-drawn characters seem like people the readers know. Cora's heart of gold personality gives Last Puzzle And Testament a special feel that turns this novel into a keeper that will be read many times over in the years to come.

Kirkus Reviews

One Across: Fishy decoys. (Answer below.) Crossword puzzles provide the clues and most of the drama for this sequel to A Clue for the Puzzle Lady (1999). Emma Hurley has posthumously appointed crossword celebrity Cora Felton judge of a contest to decide which unattractive relative will inherit her millions. Phyllis and Phillip, Emma's niece and nephew, take sibling rivalry to new lows. Daniel, another nephew's son, seems to be waiting for an Easy Rider 2 casting call. Emma's brother Chester lives like a primitive Puritan. Annabel, another niece, has escaped the Hurley personality, but unfortunately not the Hurley looks. All except Chester and Annabel race to solve a crossword sending them to clues hidden around town. Unfortunately, although Cora may be the Puzzle Lady's public image, it's her niece Sherry who constructs the crosswords-and who has to struggle to keep her hard-drinking aunt sober while she races the desperate Hurleys to solve clues. She's sorely distracted, however, by nice Aaron Grant, whose high-school flame, gorgeous Becky Baldwin, has returned from law school to defend the town drunk, who broke into the Hurley mansion just before the contest began. But Becky's client is killed. And so is Annabel, after insisting that Emma's puzzle is, well, puzzling. So Cora works on the murders, while Sherry tackles the crossword and worries about Aaron. Can they find an answer to the last kill and puzzlement?