On This Page
Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML: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 show more 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!. show less
Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Cora, the “puzzle lady” and her niece are dealing with the publicity from their first foray into crime solving when Cora is asked to officiate on determining the heir to a vast fortune upon the death of Emma Hurley. The heirs are charged with solving a puzzle, winner to get the fortune. What follows is a sort of scavenger hunt based around solving the quadrants of a crossword puzzle, with Cora and Sherry trying to stay ahead of the contestants. Then some mysterious deaths and attempts prove this to be much more serious. This book was much better than the first. Cora was sober for most of the action although not willingly. Characters are growing on me and I hope to see more emotional growth in future volumes.
Fun and easy reading, with some word play.
Crossword puzzle creator and her aunt who everyone thinks is the "Puzzle Lady".
Typical light mystery, with some twists & red herrings.
I have some others in this series and will read them, also.
Read in 2011
Crossword puzzle creator and her aunt who everyone thinks is the "Puzzle Lady".
Typical light mystery, with some twists & red herrings.
I have some others in this series and will read them, also.
Read in 2011
Fairly interesting.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
62+ Works 3,874 Members
Parnell Hall is a part-time actor, a former private detective, singer/songwriter, and full-time writer of novels and screenplays. He writes the Stanley Hastings Mystery series, the Steve Winslow courtroom drama series, and the Puzzle Lady Mystery series. He also writes under the pseudonym J. P. Hailey. He wrote the screenplay to the 1984 movie show more C.H.U.D. Hall co-authored New York Times bestseller Smooth Operator with Stuart Woods. (Bowker Author Biography) Parnell Hall has been nominated for the Edgar, the Shamus, and the Lefty Awards for his mysteries. Bantam will publish his third Puzzle Lady mystery, Puzzled to Death, in Fall 2001. He lives in New York City. (Publisher Provided) show less
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Last Puzzle & Testament
- Original publication date
- 2000-09-05
- People/Characters
- Cora Felton; Sherry Carter; Emma Hurley
- Important places
- Bakerhaven, Connecticut, USA (fictitious town)
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 260
- Popularity
- 124,155
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.64)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 2
