Parnell Hall's first Puzzle Lady mystery, A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, was hailed as "devious and delightful" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "heaven for crossword puzzle fans" (Kirkus Reviews). Now, Hall brings back his two unforgettable sleuths, Miss Cora Felton and her long-suffering niece, Sherry Carter, in another irresistible tale of greed, murder, and mystery most puzzling. Last Puzzle & Testament Emma Hurley died the way she lived--surrounded by an air of mystery, with only her servants at her side. That is, until she finally passes away...and her greedy heirs crawl out of the woodwork to stake a claim to Emma's fortune. But unlike most people, Emma was not content to leave behind a simple will. Instead, her final testament includes, of all things, a clever puzzle...one to be given only to her living heirs. The first one to solve the puzzle will inherit Emma's entire estate; everyone else will be left with a pittance. Complicating matters further, the will stipulates that Cora Felton--local celebrity and famed author of a popular syndicated crossword puzzle column--must referee the contest. Unfortunately, Cora knows far more about the fine art of mixing a martini than creating--let alone solving--crossword puzzles. It's Cora's niece Sherry who's the brains behind Cora's "Puzzle Lady" persona. And it's up to Sherry to unravel the bizarre riddle Emma Hurley engineered before her death. For soon it's plain that Emma's game is one without a clear winner...and that the players could lose far more than they ever imagine. Before long, would-be heirs are scouring every nook and cranny of the town as they scramble to solve a forty-year-old puzzle, while the Puzzle Lady herself adds to the chaos with her less-than-sobering antics. Meanwhile, Sherry has some pressing problems of her own: Her romantic interest in a mild-mannered local reporter is turning into an unpleasant love triangle--one that involves a glamorous young lawyer. And when one of the participants in Emma's contest is knifed to death, the last thing Sherry needs is amorous advances--especially when they're coming from the number one suspect in the crime....Last Puzzle & Testamentis a devilish concoction of gamesmanship, malice, and mystery for anyone who loves a puzzle--across, down, or any way around!

Sherry Carter was happy. She ran her hand through her hair, pushed the bangs off her forehead, tugged at her earlobe, and smiled across the table at Aaron Grant.

The young reporter was wearing a sports jacket with his shirt collar unbuttoned and the knot of his tie pulled down. His brown hair was wavy and slightly mussed. And he was clean shaven--it occurred to Sherry he was always clean shaven, very clean shaven, almost as if he was too young to shave.

"How's your soup?" Aaron asked.

Sherry barely heard him. "Huh?"

"How's your gazpacho?"

"Oh. It's okay."

"I could have warned you," Aaron said. He gestured with his spoon. "Chicken soup you can't go wrong. Anything else you take a chance."

"I said it was okay."

Aaron smiled. "Yes, you did. But okay is not a word of praise. It is an equivocation, indicating a reluctance to make a value judgment. And implying a less than favorable assessment."

Sherry tried to scowl, but made a poor job of it. Her eyes twinkled. "Does everything with you have to be wordplay?"

"Not at all," Aaron replied. "Just look me in the eye and tell me the truth--your gazpacho is barely adequate, and you could make much better yourself--which I am quite sure is a fact--and I would do nothing but agree."

"Oh, you like women who brag about their accomplishments?"

"Who said anything about women? I like people who are straightforward. Sex doesn't enter into it."

"That's for sure."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Does that happen to you often?"

"What?"

"That sex doesn't enter into it?"

"Now who's indulging in wordplay?"

"I wasn't," Sherry replied. "I was just looking you in the eye and telling you the truth."

Aaron Grant laughed. Sherry laughed back. They found themselves leaning on their elbows, smiling at each other.

Aaron and Sherry were having lunch at the Wicker Basket, a small family restaurant on Drury Lane, just off Main Street in Bakerhaven, Connecticut. The restaurant was a step up from the local diner, featuring tables, not booths, with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths and linen napkins. It was a quiet, homey place, and while the food was nothing special, on this occasion the atmosphere was more important.

It was their first date.

And by Aaron and Sherry's standards, it was going well. Even if they had taken refuge in the safety of wordplay. Both were linguists. Aaron was a writer, Sherry was a crossword-puzzle constructor, and as such they were highly competitive. Sherry loved sparring with Aaron, loved having an intellectual equal who was capable of giving it back as good as he got it. Bantering with Aaron Grant was a treat.

It was also safe.

It kept Sherry from exposing herself, from opening up, from talking about the things that really mattered. Like their relationship, for instance, and where it was going.

There were lots of things unsaid.

Sherry was older than Aaron. Just a few years, but with an unsuccessful marriage to her credit. Aaron was only a year out of college and still lived with his parents, which made him seem young on the one hand, and precluded him inviting her up to his room on the other. Or so Sherry imagined. Their relationship hadn't gotten to that point yet.

For her part, Sherry lived with her aunt. And while the much-married Cora Felton couldn't have cared less if Sherry had invited Aaron over--on the contrary, from the start Cora had been the one pushing the relationship--Sherry still would have felt inhibited by her presence.

So they really had nowhere to go.

As if that weren't enough impediment to the relationship, Sherry had one more stumbling block.

Sherry's aunt, Cora Felton, was famous. She was known as the Puzzle Lady, both for her national TV ads and for her syndicated crossword-puzzle column. Two hundred and fifty-six newspapers carried that column, including Aaron's paper, the Bakerhaven Gazette. Cora Felton's beaming face appeared in the Gazette every morning.

That in itself would not have been a problem, but Cora Felton didn't write the crossword-puzzle column.

Sherry did.

Cora Felton merely provided the image. Her face was Sherry's conception of what the Puzzle Lady should be. Which apparently was everybody else's, for the Puzzle Lady puzzles were wildly popular.

At the moment, this too was complicating Sherry Carter and Aaron Grant's relationship.

Aaron knew Sherry was the Puzzle Lady.

Sherry didn't know he knew it.

Aaron had found out while covering the Graveyard Killings, as the Bakerhaven murders had come to be known, figured it out himself and then finessed a confirmation out of Cora Felton, who couldn't stand up to his cross-examination. Cora had left the task of telling Sherry up to him. So far he hadn't gotten around to it.

Though, Aaron realized, that wasn't quite the case. In fact, it wasn't the case at all. It wasn't that he hadn't gotten around to it. Aaron wanted to tell Sherry more than anything. It was one of the reasons he'd invited her to lunch. And yet, he still hadn't told her.

Because, more than anything, he wanted her to tell him.

It really bothered him that she hadn't. That after all they'd been through together, she didn't trust him enough to let him know. Not that Aaron couldn't make allowances. He knew Sherry had suffered at the hands of her alcoholic ex-husband. But he knew that from Cora, not from Sherry. And he wanted to hear the truth from Sherry badly, so badly he was holding off telling her just to give her the opportunity.

But he could not hold out long. Aaron had made up his mind. If Sherry hadn't told him by the end of lunch, that was it. He'd give in and speak first. Not that he thought he'd have to. From her manner, he had a feeling she was about to tell him.

And she was.

As Sherry Carter sat in the Wicker Basket, smiling across the table at Aaron Grant, she felt at peace with the world. Because she knew she could tell him, and it would be all right. She could tell him about being the real Puzzle Lady. And she could tell him about her abusive ex-husband. And Aaron would understand. In spite of his jovial manner, in spite of his never taking anything seriously, Aaron was basically a good guy, and he would take it the right way. He might joke, sure, but it would be a friendly joke, a supportive joke, an accepting joke. He would put her at her ease.

Sherry was sure of it.

So why was she hesitating?

She wasn't.

She would tell him now.

Sherry put her hands on the table, opened her mouth to speak, and--

Stopped.

Aaron Grant wasn't looking at her. He was looking past her. The expression on his face was hard to read. Surprise, yes, but beyond that. Was it a pleasant surprise? It was hard to tell. But he appeared to be blushing. What was he looking at?

A figure appeared in Sherry's peripheral vision and bore down on their table. Sherry looked up, frowned.

It was a young woman in a purple pants suit. Her blond hair was sculpted, curling down the side of her head in a casual, careless swoop that Sherry knew took patience to perfect. She was in her mid-twenties, but looked older, without looking old. She also looked sophisticated without looking sharp, stylish without looking styled. She looked intelligent, competent, totally self-assured. A woman who knows precisely what she wants. And knows exactly how to get it. That was Sherry's first impression.

Stunning.

Totally stunning.

Excerpted from Last Puzzle and Testament by Parnell Hall
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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Last Puzzle & Testament

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