It’s the battle of the century when Minami, the Sudoku Lady, shows up in Bakerhaven, Connecticut, to meet Cora Felton, the Puzzle Lady, whose sudoku books have just edged Minami’s off of the Japanese bestseller list. Before the rivals have a chance to square off, a killer strikes, and a sudoku puzzle is found at the scene of the murder. Now it’s a fight to the finish to see who can unmask the … killer.
Cora is eager to undo her Japanese counterpart—at least until the poor woman is arrested for murder and Cora realizes that she accidentally framed her for the crime. As if that weren’t frustrating enough, the publicity of her arrest drives Minami’s sales through the roof
Now it’s up to Cora to clear her rival’s name, get her off the bestseller list, and trap the real killer, but she’d better do it fast, before the cops find out what Cora did, and she winds up facing more jail time than Minami.
Boasting an entertaining, fun-filled mystery, as well as several satisfying crossword and sudoku puzzles, the Puzzle Lady’s latest adventure makes for a rollicking good read.
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The Puzzle Lady Meets Her Japanese Competition
Welcome to the town of Bakerhaven, Connecticut. It’s claim to fame is that Cora Felton, author of the popular Puzzle Lady crossword column lives there. Also, it happens to be the murder capital of Connecticut. The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady is the eleventh book in the series, after all.
In previous books, Cora has branched out to Sudoku, and her book of puzzles has been published in Japan. That sets the stage for this book as Minami, the top creator of Sudoku puzzle books in Japan arrives in Bakerhaven. She is coming to meet her competition since Cora’s book has just topped hers on the Japan best seller list.
But Minami has just arrived in town when a dead body turns up. The police, and Cora, are quick to call it a tragic accident, but Minami is insisting it is murder. Since she has occasionally helped the police in Japan, she challenges Cora to a contest to see who can catch the killer first. Cora isn’t inclined to accept until a second body turns up and Minami is arrest for the crime. Is there a killer on the loose? Is Minami guilty?
At this point in the series, there is a definite formula to the proceedings, and this book doesn’t stray too far from that. We get a body or two, lots of verbal sparring, a smattering of puzzles you can solve (both crossword and Sudoku), and an over the top finish that would never happen in real life.
The characters are really caricatures. There is nothing real about them. In fact, like the story, they are over the top. But they certainly work for the series, and I have come to care about them. Well, most of them. Dennis, the abusive ex-husband of Cora’s niece, needs to go. He’s a one note character I got tired of several books ago. In fact, if he turned up as a murder victim, I would cheer. (Hint, hint.)
The story seemed to get bogged down in the middle here, as Cora went from person to person trying to get more information and getting stonewalled instead. Things do pick up for the final 100 pages, which lead to a logical solution.
The writing is fast paced with an emphasis on witty banter. The chapters are usually only one scene long, so they are often only a few pages. Combine the two, and I read this book in just a couple of days.
One thing that keeps drawing me back is the wit displayed by the characters. The word play used at times makes me laugh at out. There was one comment during the climax that especially made me laugh. The humor goes a long way toward helping me overlook the flaws.
While I still enjoyed The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady, I can’t help but feel like we’ve done most of this before. It’s not the strongest entry in the series, but it will make the series fans happy.