"light, small town regional mystery"
The small rural town of Taneysville in Massachusetts is
usually a very quiet place but the residents are now in an
uproar over outsider Alex Gordon buying the Quiqley
farmhouse. The xenophobic townsfolk don't want an
outsider moving in and building more structures on the
property. Members of the Trinity Church vestry are afraid
the construction equipment will damage the structure of the
church and local residents resent the fact that the
contractor isn't hiring local people. All building is
abruptly halted when a body is unearthed and the skeletal
remains are found to be human body. Forensics tests prove that the remains are that of a woman
and that she was murdered. Newcastle private
investigator Rosco Polycrates is hired to discover the
identity of the woman and the person who killed her.
Roscos's wife Belle Graham, a puzzle constructor for the
local newspaper is being sent puzzles by a resident n a
nursing home and that person seems to have some knowledge
of the skeletal remains. While the duo pursue separate
investigative paths, somebody torches the Gordon place and
while trying to connect the arson to the homicide, Belle
and Rosco solve an unrelated double homicide but are
totally clueless about the identity of the murder victim. Mystery fans who like a light, small town regional mystery
are going to have a lot of fun reading CORPUS DE
CROSSWORD. The crossword puzzles scattered throughout the
novel contain the clues that will enable the reader to
solve the mystery. The two protagonists make a great
investigative team in the tradition of Nick and Nora and
their connubial bliss lightens the mood when they hit a
bump in the investigation. Nero Blanc is a master when it
comes to constructing puzzling mysteries. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted June 24, 2003
|
