Publishers
Weekly
"The pseudonymous Blanc (husband-and-wife
writing team Steve Zettler and Cordelia Frances Biddle)
has constructed another neat whodunit, along with
some clever crosswords, in this third outing (after
The Crossword Murder and Two Down). Crossword creator
Belle Graham is happily anticipating her upcoming
nuptials to private investigator Rosco Polycrates
when the murder of a homeless man in an alley in Newcastle,
Mass., threatens to derail those plans. Is the murder
part of a plot designed to shut down a homeless shelter
so that developers can take over the property? And
what happened to the puppy the murder victim had recently
adopted? Local grande dame Sara Crane Briephs hires
Rosco to find the missing pup, giving him a legitimate
reason (other than sheer nosiness) to be involved
in the case. The situation turns uglier when a second
murder occurs. Soon Rosco disappears, and Belle receives
odd and threatening messages in the form of devilishly
contrived crossword clues, which she thinks are coming
from the kidnapper. Can Rosco's former partner, Lieutenant
Al Lever, find him in time for the wedding to go ahead
as planned? ... Blanc builds the suspense slowly and
surely, challenging the reader with a dandy puzzler."
Harriet
Klausner - Bookbrowser.com
"The third Crossword mystery retains
the uniqueness of its two predecessors... The story
line is fresh with the puzzles serving as an intricate
part of the amateur sleuth inquiry. Rosco and Belle
seem more like neighbors and the secondary cast such
as Roscoe's police pal Lever adds depth.... an enjoyable
interactive who-done-it."
Sylvia
Maurin - Smithfield Trust Company
"The
Crossword Connection is recommended reading for those
who at one time or another have been so frustrated
by a crossword puzzle that thoughts of killing the
crossword editor may have occurred to them... Those
who enjoy the genre of mystery generally have also
taken their pens to a few crossword puzzles. The Crossword
Connection blends both and makes for a nearly perfect
weekend read."
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