Arsenic and Old Puzzles: A Puzzle Lady Mystery

The Puzzle Lady embarks on another adventure involving one classic movie and featuring new puzzles by Will Shortz

When an elderly boarder at a Bakerhaven bed-and-breakfast drops dead during afternoon tea, there's nothing particularly suspicious about it--except for the Sudoku in his jacket pocket. But when a second body turns up in the window seat and an autopsy shows both men were poisoned with elderberry wine, the Puzzle Lady suspects she's dealing with a cold-blooded killer who for some reason is copying the Cary Grant movie Arsenic and Old Lace, in which two old ladies who run a boarding house poison elderly widowers and bury them in the basement. More murders, more puzzles, and a grave dug in the cellar seem to cement the theory.

Ordinarily, Cora would eat a case like this for breakfast, but for once she can't figure it out. And she's not sure if the clues don't add up, or if the much-married Puzzle Lady is just distracted by being involved in her first romantic entanglement in years.

Arsenic and Old Puzzles is filled with laughs, mayhem, and fun new puzzles by Will Shortz. Mystery and puzzle fans will find much to enjoy in this latest treat from Parnell Hall.

Author: Parnell Hall
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 01/22/2013
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.87lbs
Size: 8.46h x 5.89w x 1.07d
ISBN: 9780312602482

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/15/2012
Booklist 11/15/2012 pg. 22
Kirkus Reviews 12/01/2012
Romantic Times 01/01/2013 pg. 71 - Excellent
Library Journal 01/01/2013 pg. 72

About the Author

PARNELL HALL has been an actor, screenwriter, and singer/songwriter. He is a former president of the Private Eye Writers of America and a member of Sisters in Crime. He has been a finalist for an Edgar, two Lefty, and three Shamus Awards. Parnell lives in New York City.

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