I don’t usually read Parnell Hall’s Puzzle Lady mysteries, but I’m always attracted to books set in New York City. Cora Felton, The Puzzle Lady, is featured in this one, while her niece, Sherry Carter, really has just a small supporting role. Cora hopes there’s a star playing her role in Lights! Camera! Puzzles!
If Cora Felton didn’t need the money, she certainly wouldn’t be sitting in a theater watching actresses audition to play her in the movie made from her fifth ex-husband’s trashy tell-all book. When a production assistant is murdered before filming event starts, Sergeant Crowley, a homicide detective and one of Cora’s ex-boyfriends, calls her to the scene. Lovers’ spat gone wrong? It’s possible because the woman’s boyfriend is found dead as well.
Something just doesn’t feel right to Cora. However, she’s sidetracked when Angela Broadbent, a television actress, steps in to portray her in the film. Filming starts again, but murders continue to roll. Cora’s not really interested in solving these murders. She’s willing to let Crowley solve this series of murders, but Angela pushes her to investigate.
The one-liners and witty comebacks never stop in the latest Puzzle Lady romp. The humorous mystery takes readers behind the scenes in the film world. Readers who appreciate fast-paced cozy mysteries with an outrageous amateur sleuth will enjoy puzzling out the clues in Lights! Camera! Puzzles!
Parnell Hall’s website is www.parnellhall.com
Lights! Camera! Puzzles! by Parnell Hall. Pegasus Crime, 2019. ISBN 9781643130590 (hardcover), 272p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure – I received the book to review for a journal.
The niece, Sherry Carter has been slowly disappearing from the novels, from what I can see.
I haven't read too many of them, Glen. In the early ones, she was active, and then I quit reading the series.