A CROSSWORDER'S GIFT

Nero Blanc

Berkley Prime Crime

ISBN 0-425-19315-2

October 2003

Mystery/Holiday

This holiday volume contains five stories for the puzzle-minded. Five different locales, from the Caribbean to Las Vegas to Montreal, at different times over the holiday season provide the settings for these cozy and intriguing stories. All but the last story features crossword designer Annabella (Belle) Graham and her husband, Rosco Polycrates, a retired detective and now private investigator. Each story contains a crossword puzzle that must be solved by the reader.

The title story, my personal favorite, concerns a musician and professional gambler called Dr. Jazz who sent Belle a list of clues to be used to create a crossword. Later, he was found dead in his hotel suite, a murder victim. Authorities suspect that the list of clues he sent Belle may give them some leads. After finishing the story, the reader must complete the crossword to decipher the solution left by Dr. Jazz.

The rest of the stories detail a family mystery set at a bed-and-breakfast in Montreal; a possible buried treasure on a Caribbean island; a meeting of puzzle creators at the Grand Canyon that turns murderous; and a very cozy story of a sewing circle snowbound for the night in New England. Each story is complete in itself and provides a wonderful introduction to Belle and Rosco. I would recommend that the reader complete the crossword puzzles as they are presented in the story (solutions can be found at the end of the book) since the puzzles often provide clues and motivations for the stories. This book is the perfect gift for fans of crosswords and other word games; and a wonderful way to spend an evening or two. I look forward to more like this.