The Purloined Puzzle: A Puzzle Lady Mystery (Puzzle Lady Mysteries Book 19)

Amateur sleuth and crossword impresario Cora Felton is asked to solve a puzzle, only to find that it’s been stolen—and a murder weapon has been left in its place. When the obnoxious sixteen-year-old Peggy Dawson asks Cora Felton to solve a puzzle for her, Cora is delighted to find that the puzzle has been stolen. She is less delighted, however, when a blood-stained knife is found in its place. Soon a body is discovered in the middle of Main Street, and Cora has a murder investigation on her hands. It does not help matters when she hears that her least favorite ex-husband, Melvin, is in town pulling a real estate scam, particularly when she discovers that Melvin may have purchased the knife. Now it’s up to the Puzzle Lady to figure out what really happened, in The Purloined Puzzle , from the New York Times' bestselling author Parnell Hall. When 16-year-old Peggy Dawson approaches Cora with a crossword puzzle that the girl thinks is important to solve, Cora foists her off on Harvey Beerbaum, a crossword expert. After the puzzle disappears, Harvey refers Peggy to police chief Dale Harper. Naturally, the puzzle, when found, connects to a murder-that of stabbing victim Fred Winkler-as does a bloody knife found by Peggy's brother, Johnny, in his room. The police settle on Johnny as a suspect in Winkler's death, but then find an even better one: Cora's ex-husband, Melvin Crabtree, whose planned tell-all book, Confessions of a Trophy Husband: My Life with the Puzzle Lady, threatens Cora's secret-that she's the public face for the crossword puzzles created by her niece Sherry Grant. A barrage of insults, put-downs, confusions, and double entendres will keep fans of light humorous mysteries happily turning the pages. Amateur sleuth and crossword impresario Cora Felton is asked to solve a puzzle, only to find that it's been stolen—and a murder weapon has been left in its place. When the obnoxious sixteen-year-old Peggy Dawson asks Cora Felton to solve a puzzle for her, Cora is delighted to find that the puzzle has been stolen. She is less delighted, however, when a blood-stained knife is found in its place. Soon a body is discovered in the middle of Main Street, and Cora has a murder investigation on her hands. It does not help matters when she hears that her least favorite ex-husband, Melvin, is in town pulling a real estate scam, particularly when she discovers that Melvin may have purchased the knife. Now it's up to the Puzzle Lady to figure out what really happened, in The Purloined Puzzle , from the New York Times' bestselling author Parnell Hall. Amateur sleuth and crossword impresario Cora Felton is asked to solve a puzzle, only to find that it's been stolen-and a murder weapon has been left in its place. When the obnoxious sixteen-year-old Peggy Dawson asks Cora Felton to solve a puzzle for her, Cora is delighted to find that the puzzle has been stolen. She is less delighted, however, when a blood-stained knife is found in its place. Soon a body is discovered in the middle of Main Street, and Cora has a murder investigation on her hands. It does not help matters when she hears that her least favourite ex-husband, Melvin, is in town pulling a real estate scam, particularly when she discovers that Melvin may have purchased the knife. Now it's up to the Puzzle Lady to figure out what really happened When the obnoxious sixteen-year-old Peggy Dawson asks Cora Felton to solve a puzzle for her, Cora is delighted to find that the puzzle has been stolen. She is less delighted, however, when a blood-stained knife is found in its place. Soon a body is discovered in the middle of Main Street, and Cora has a murder investigation on her hands. It does not help matters when she hears that her least favorite ex-husband, Melvin, is in town pulling a real estate scam, particularly when she discovers that Melvin may have purchased the knife. Now it's up to the Puzzle Lady to figure out what really happened.--from dust jacket. Agreeing to help an obnoxious teen solve a puzzle, amateur sleuth and crossword impresario Cora Felton discovers a blood-stained knife in the puzzle's place before a body is discovered in the middle of Main Street, a case that is further complicated by her ex-husband's real-estate scam