Puzzle Me a Murder

Call me old-fashioned, but when I’m reading a cozy, I like a corpse to make an appearance in the first quarter of the book. Puzzle Me a Murder delivers not just a corpse, but the body of George Milliner, the husband of Ruby, who just happens to be best friends with Alice Pepper. And Alice is totally at the center of this book. Director of the local public library (job and library are portrayed 100 percent accurately), Alice rules from her huge, old Craftsman house, her settlement in the divorce, surrounded by friends and family. So when George is murdered—he was last seen in his house chasing a young, scantily clad, blonde-haired woman—Alice, Ruby, and others spring into action, and having a granddaughter on the police force certainly helps. While cooking, eating, and working on puzzles provide the crew with some down time, Alice and Ruby are more often out and about ferreting information to help determine George’s murderer. What they find is shocking: corruption in local government, blackmail from vendors, and the harassment of some of West Hazel, Oregon’s leading citizens. There’s a buoyancy to this book that makes it a delight to read, while still capturing the evil that dwells among us. I am so looking forward to another Alice adventure.