SummaryThe Chicago Sun-Times crowns Parnell Hall's Puzzle Lady
mysteries "a joy for lovers of both crosswords and frothy
crime detection...Cora Felton is a lovable and unique
sleuth." Now the crime-solving powers of the inimitable
Cora and her clever niece, Sherry Carter, are put to the
ultimate test as they square off against a yuletide killer
who hides within the white-and-black shadows of an
acrostic.... A Puzzle In A Pear Tree 'Tis the season to be jolly, but Cora Felton, shanghaied
into "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as a most reluctant
maid-a-milking, has every right to feel like a grinch. When
someone steals the partridge from the pear tree and
replaces it with a cryptic puzzle she has no hope of
solving, it's almost more than the Puzzle Lady can bear.
But then smug crossword creator Harvey Beerbaum solves the
acrostic, and it turns out to be a poem promising the death
of an actress. This is more like it! Could the threat be
aimed at Cora and her thespian debut? Or at Sherry, one of
the ladies-dancing? Or at Sherry's nemesis, the pageant's
predatory lead, Becky Baldwin? Cora and Sherry barely have time for a mystery, what with
trimming Christmas trees and buying Christmas presents, but
rehearsals go on, under police protection--until a killer
strikes elsewhere in a most unexpected manner.Ordinarily
Cora Felton would be delighted to have two murders to
solve. But this time she finds herself vying with a
visiting Scotland Yard inspector who appears to have an all-
too-personal stake in solving the crimes. Cora does too
when her own niece becomes a prime suspect and the murderer
strikes again. Is someone trying to shut down the Christmas pageant? Cora
would be only too happy if that were the case, but she
fears the secrets lie deeper. Now she is interviewing
witnesses, breaking into motel rooms, finding evidence,
planting evidence, and having a merry old time. In fact,
she would be perfectly happy--if this wasn't turning out to
be a Christmas to die for!
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