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peacefrog's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Once again Cora is insanely bizarre and on point. Perhaps the best part of the book was when Cora was in court. I could not stop laughing at the insanity of it all. Some may have complained about this being unrealistic, yet here we are in 2022 and have just witnessed the Depp vs Heard case 🤣
These are my go to books when I need some joy and mood lifting!
These are my go to books when I need some joy and mood lifting!
magnetgrrl's review
2.0
My mother gave me this book recently for no particular reason, and I promise you I would never have read it otherwise.
There's not much to say about it. It's a mystery, in a series where the gimmick is that an elderly lady is famous in her small town for being "The Puzzle Lady" - a successful crossword constructor. But the real constructor is the Puzzle Lady's niece, and the elderly lady is just a young-acting grandma with a sharp mind and a smart mouth and a penchant for solving crimes.
The book is peppered with real crossword and anacrostic puzzles to be solved. I'm sure someone is geeking out on this somewhere. I confess even I enjoyed the concept, and completing the puzzles. The mystery itself however left me completely cold. The plot is too convoluted to be engrossing - in the end when the reveal comes it's tedious and barely makes sense. Then the denouement drags on for an extraneous boring chapter. I also didn't care about any of the characters, and didn't like the Puzzle Lade herself very much. She seems like a receptacle for a lot of worn-out cliches and a lot of jokes I never found to be funny the first time around let alone the fiftieth. She's an old lady but likes to drink and party and act young and - gasp! - talks about sex! She doesn't understand those new-fangled internets - but she's still smart, young lady. She's been married 7 or 8 times ... yawn. There was also a painful amount of lawyers (and other people) overusing the legal doublespeak to confuse opponents... and each other... and the reader.... and a completely inane court scene that was beyond unrealistic. And perhaps most obnoxiously, here and there were sort of almost-but-not-at-all "touching" moments where a character hints at a past alcohol problem, or a lost love, or ... something not explained enough for the reader to reallyt care about.
I feel strangely guilty panning a book that was a gift, from my mother no less who knows I like crossword puzzles and was only being thoughtful. But there it is. People who suck down 3 mystery paperbacks a day may like this book more than I did, because I'm assuming their tastes are less discerning. They'll especially like it if they also like puzzles. The only thing I can say in this book's favor is that I'm sure that if ever one book in the series should go meta and turn the tables on the Puzzle Lady and her niece to where the puzzles in the book are giving clues to the mystery itself... that could be cool and will no doubt be a high point in the series. (I suspect it would either be used as the first book in the series, or as the major turning point/last book.) But even so, I would predict that it *could* be a lot cooler than it will most likely prove to be in execution.
There's not much to say about it. It's a mystery, in a series where the gimmick is that an elderly lady is famous in her small town for being "The Puzzle Lady" - a successful crossword constructor. But the real constructor is the Puzzle Lady's niece, and the elderly lady is just a young-acting grandma with a sharp mind and a smart mouth and a penchant for solving crimes.
The book is peppered with real crossword and anacrostic puzzles to be solved. I'm sure someone is geeking out on this somewhere. I confess even I enjoyed the concept, and completing the puzzles. The mystery itself however left me completely cold. The plot is too convoluted to be engrossing - in the end when the reveal comes it's tedious and barely makes sense. Then the denouement drags on for an extraneous boring chapter. I also didn't care about any of the characters, and didn't like the Puzzle Lade herself very much. She seems like a receptacle for a lot of worn-out cliches and a lot of jokes I never found to be funny the first time around let alone the fiftieth. She's an old lady but likes to drink and party and act young and - gasp! - talks about sex! She doesn't understand those new-fangled internets - but she's still smart, young lady. She's been married 7 or 8 times ... yawn. There was also a painful amount of lawyers (and other people) overusing the legal doublespeak to confuse opponents... and each other... and the reader.... and a completely inane court scene that was beyond unrealistic. And perhaps most obnoxiously, here and there were sort of almost-but-not-at-all "touching" moments where a character hints at a past alcohol problem, or a lost love, or ... something not explained enough for the reader to reallyt care about.
I feel strangely guilty panning a book that was a gift, from my mother no less who knows I like crossword puzzles and was only being thoughtful. But there it is. People who suck down 3 mystery paperbacks a day may like this book more than I did, because I'm assuming their tastes are less discerning. They'll especially like it if they also like puzzles. The only thing I can say in this book's favor is that I'm sure that if ever one book in the series should go meta and turn the tables on the Puzzle Lady and her niece to where the puzzles in the book are giving clues to the mystery itself... that could be cool and will no doubt be a high point in the series. (I suspect it would either be used as the first book in the series, or as the major turning point/last book.) But even so, I would predict that it *could* be a lot cooler than it will most likely prove to be in execution.
rachelm31f6b's review against another edition
2.0
Normally detective characters are (sometimes) pushy and determinedly track down clues with ways that may or may not be the most legal. But is there anyone's house this lady didn't break into?
I found the main character, Cora, to be a bit frustrating. She kept going about her own way doing what she wanted no matter what anyone else said (even her lawyer).
Sure finally at the end things maybe sorta fell into place but this wasn't my favorite story for sure.
I found the main character, Cora, to be a bit frustrating. She kept going about her own way doing what she wanted no matter what anyone else said (even her lawyer).
Sure finally at the end things maybe sorta fell into place but this wasn't my favorite story for sure.
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