Cruciverbalists, rejoice! Pick up a pencil and get ready to solve a puzzling murder-and an actual crossword puzzle-in this sparkling debut of a unique amateur detective: Miss Cora Felton, an eccentric old lady with a syndicated puzzle column, an irresistible urge to poke into unsettling events, and a niece who's determined to keep her out of trouble.

When the body of an unknown teenage girl turns up in the cemetery in the quiet town of Bakerhaven, Police Chief Dale Harper finds himself investigating his first homicide. A baffling clue leads him to consult Bakerhaven's resident puzzle expert-his first big mistake. Soon Cora's meddling, mischief-making behavior drives Chief Harper to distraction and inspires many cross words from her long-suffering niece, Sherry. But when another body turns up in a murder that hits much closer to home, Cora must find a killer-before she winds up in a wooden box three feet across...and six down.

A Clue for the Puzzle Lady is a decent cozy mystery. The characters were a little odd for a cozy, Cora Felton is woman with a drinking problem, the chief of police is incompetant, Aaron a young newspaper reporter grasping for stories, and Sherry is running from an abusive ex-husband and has a secret of her own. The character started to grow on me as the book progess and Sherry's secret came out. It was an interesting mystery, but I didn't see how the solution came about. It was not very clear how Cora, in a drunken stupor, figures out the mystery and confronts the murderer. Overall a decent mystery but not one of the best.

Received from blackadder75 last week.