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A review by benmsmith
A Clue for the Puzzle Lady by Parnell Hall
1.0
I needed to read a "cozy mystery" for a reading challenge I'm doing this year, and I picked this one from a list of cozy mystery series from the same website because I enjoy crossword puzzles. Based on my experience reading this, I'm pretty sure the person who compiled the list of cozy mystery series has not actually read any books in _this_ particular series.
Everyone in this book is awful, incompetent, or both, and the lead's whole deal appears to be "a grandma shouldn't do that!", which is cute for a minute but not when their main schtick seems to be alcoholism.
The author does not seem to understand how American crossword puzzle clues work - you can't clue "sweepstakes" by cluing "sweeps" and "takes" cryptic-style. There are a few other crossword-world references, like the CRUCIVERB-L mailing list, but these feel sprinkled in without actually understanding how those things work/what they do. The author also does not seem to understand how a police investigation of a murder works, even in a whimsical world where the killer is leaving crossword-esque clues with their kills.
how are there t w e n t y books in this series. who is approving these. w h o.
Everyone in this book is awful, incompetent, or both, and the lead's whole deal appears to be "a grandma shouldn't do that!", which is cute for a minute but not when their main schtick seems to be alcoholism.
The author does not seem to understand how American crossword puzzle clues work - you can't clue "sweepstakes" by cluing "sweeps" and "takes" cryptic-style. There are a few other crossword-world references, like the CRUCIVERB-L mailing list, but these feel sprinkled in without actually understanding how those things work/what they do. The author also does not seem to understand how a police investigation of a murder works, even in a whimsical world where the killer is leaving crossword-esque clues with their kills.
how are there t w e n t y books in this series. who is approving these. w h o.