Last Puzzle & Testament (The Puzzle Lady Mysteries)

by Parnell Hall

Book Overview

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's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553581430
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 1.1" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

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Last Puzzle and Testament

The picture description say very but when the book arrived it had no jacket. The description should say doesn’t no jacket included

The Puzzle is Solved. I'm a Fan

Emma Hurley was the eccentric rich old maid in town before she died of old age. Now her relatives are gathering to hear her last will. And it's a doozy. The first one to solve a puzzle will inherit ten million dollars; the rest will walk away with ten thousand each. Not a bad conciliation prize, but for the greedy family, second place is not good enough. To win, there will be a race to solve a puzzle. Called on to judge the contest is famed "Puzzle Lady" Cora Felton. Which only makes sense when the puzzle turns out to be a crossword grid with a quarter of the clues. The catch, of course, is the Cora knows nothing about cross word puzzles, so her niece Sherry must work behind the scenes to keep her aunt's public image intact. Racing to stay ahead of the heirs would be bad enough if it weren't for the murders. First it's the town drunk. But then one of the heirs is found dead. Is the competition getting to be too much? And where will the crossword puzzle lead? Not being a crossword puzzle fan, I put this series off for way too long. While there is a puzzle the reader is invited to solve from the clues in the book, ignoring the grid doesn't dampen the enjoyment one bit. This is a fast paced story that keeps the reader engaged and guessing from the start to the surprising climax. Honestly, I don't think I'd want to take time out to work the puzzle on my own even if I liked them. The first book seemed to have four main characters as the reader got the story from multiple viewpoints fairly consistently. This time around, the focus has definitely shifted to Cora, even though the other three characters still play important parts of the book and we occasionally see the action from their eyes. Cora is still a drunk alcoholic at the beginning, but once the story gets going, she sobers up. I must say I prefer watching a sober Cora in action. The word play between characters is cut down a little, too, which is a disappointment to me, although what is in the books is still great. The author does use a lot of dialog and a writing style that flows well, so the book is a surprisingly fast read. After reading the first in the series, I decided I'd wait and read another before I decided for sure if I liked the series or not. I'd say it's official. I'm already looking forward to reading the third in this entertaining and original series.

One of my favorites

I loved this book! Cora Felton, drunk or sober, is absolutely hilarious! I enjoy reading books by this author as he draws the reader into the action which makes the book even more intersting and I could not put this book down for more than a few minutes.I can't wait for the next book.

Great Mystery!

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.

A lot of fun!

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!

Great cerebral mystey

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.Harriet Klausner