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CORPUS DE CROSSWORD
by Nero Blanc
Berkley Prime Crime, July 2003
311 pages
$13.00
ISBN: 0425190218


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Things are not as quiet as they usually are in the small town of Taneysville, Massachusetts. In a place where everybody knows everyone else, a stranger has purchased the 15 acres that holds the old Quigley homestead. The outsider already has a construction developer digging up the land and making renovations to the house. The locals are far from happy.

The constant noise of the machines bothered the towns folk to no end. There is also the fear that the construction would damage the beloved Trinity Episcopal Church which is situated on the bottom of the hill where the Quigley house stands. These feelings reminded the people of Taneysville why they did not like strangers.

The developer is determined to do all the work that the owner has hired him to do before the cold winter weather sets in. The ground is already hard and waiting would make working it impossible. The construction crew is pushed to work all day, everyday -- until something quiets all the machinery. Where the Quigley garden used to stand, a skeleton of a young woman is uncovered and the construction stops completely as the police department investigates.

Milt (Tree) Hoffmeyer is a congressional candidate for the area with ties in Taneysville. He hires Rosco Polycrates, an ex police officer and now a private investigator, to help discover who was buried in the Quigley garden and when it happened. Milt is afraid that the unearthing of this body will hinder his election.

Rosco might own the PI firm but his wife, Belle Graham, always helps him out, even though he wishes she wouldnıt. Belle is a crossword puzzle writer for the local newspaper and very popular in her own right.

Before you know it, Belle is receiving crossword puzzles from an anonymous person. The puzzlesı clues and answers hint as to who the skeleton is. All Belle and Rosco need do is figure it all out.

CORPUS DE CROSSWORD, is the newest mystery in the popular Belle and Rosco series. Author Nero Blanc, actually husband and wife writing team Steve Zettler and Cordelia Frances Biddle, once again combine a mystery with the addition of crossword puzzles to help find the solution to the murder.

Nero Blanc creates some pleasant characters in this book. Even though the people who live in Taneysville are standoffish and even rude to strangers, there is still something extremely amiable about them and their town. The residents deeply love their community and they are incredibly loyal to each other, even if it appears that some of them might have broken the law.

Rosco and Belle are a cute couple in their thirties, even though Belle initially seemed much older to me. They have a strong marriage with friends in all fields and careers and that help them solve their mysteries, including this one.

Donıt expect all that much with this book. Itıs a light, frothy mystery and the writers donıt seem to care about the holes in the story. I donıt quite see how the discovery of the remains of the women would really affect the election of the local congressman but, as we need to involve the characters in the story some way, it suffices. Sometimes, just for the fun of the ride, you have to leave such questions aside and accept the premise given.

Crossword fans will have a good time doing the six puzzles included within the book to help find the solution to the story.

All in all, give CORPUS DE CROSSWORD a try. Itıs light reading and a good character study of people in small towns. If you like to do crossword puzzles the book has six of them included. Donıt worry if you canıt figure out the solutions, the completed puzzles are included in the back of the book.

Reviewed by Sharon Katz, July 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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