Corpus de Crossword

Crossword Mysteries #6

by Nero Blanc

Angered over a developer's plans to build on fifteen acres of land in Tanyesville, Massachusetts, the townspeople are stunned when his plans are put on hold after his crew unearths the skeleton of a young woman, forcing Belle and Rosco to use their talent for crosswords to solve the case. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Joint pseudonym of Cordelia Frances Biddle and Steve Zettler.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book and loved the twist at the end. This book had a cold case going on and I always enjoy that storyline. I like Belle and Rosco and they make a good team. I haven't read this series in order but that hasn't made a difference. I like that there are crosswords throughout the story (and they can help you solve it) but I never do them.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corpus de Crossword is the sixth book in husband & wife team Nero Blanc's entertaining Crossword mystery series. Husband and wife team, PI Rosco Polycrates and crossword puzzle creator, Belle Graham, live in Massachusetts. They get involved in a case when a body is discovered at a building site at a nearby town, Taneysville.

Rosco basically goes undercover as a building inspector to try and find out the identity of the body (he is asked by a man running for a seat in Congress) and who murdered her / him. Belle gets anonymous crosswords in the mail and as she deciphers them, she begins to believe they might be related to Rosco's investigation. The story is told from their perspective with time also taken up with the crossword puzzler, an elderly woman living in a senior's home (Her name isn't given)

It's a light fun case. Rosco and Belle are a great team, clearly in love and with a super relationship. The supporting cast, especially family friend, Sarah, and ex-partner of Roscoe, Police Lt Al Turner add to the enjoyment of the book.

Throw in a town filled with secrets of its past and a murdered PI who had tried to contact Rosco and everything moves along at a nice pace and comes to an interesting, satisfying conclusion. I thought my first experience with the crossword solving sleuths was interesting but this was better, more well-defined and well- crafted. Now to find more of the series. (3.5 stars)

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"THE _____ THICKENS
"P.I. Rosco Polycrates and crossword editor Belle Graham take their puzzle-sleuthing to a sleepy New England town that's waking up to some nasty surprises.

"Folks in Taneyville, Massachusetts are in an uproar. A builder wants to develop fifteen acres of land -- and they're sure it will be the ruin of the quaint and quiet lifestyle they hold dear. Then the determined developer is stopped cold in his tracks . . . not by a demonstration, but by a grisly discovery. The skeletal remains of a young woman have been unearthed by the construction crew. Belle and Rosco are fast on the case. It's not long before anonymous crosswords start pouring in -- but even with a plethora of clues, Belle and Rosco are finding that in this old-fashioned hamlet, not everything is black and white . . ."
~~back cover

In the author's usual style, the newly found skeleton becomes the main mystery, which Rosco stumbles onto, to his disadvantage. And at the very end, the skeletal mystery is solved, from a complete surprising source. This series is always a fun read: great characters, great plots, and a different locale for each of them. Highly recommended!

[Julie Trapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3 rating because I love the crossword puzzles that "solve" the mystery. A developer has purchased the old Quigley property and is building a massive compound there. The noise from the construction is driving the residents who live nearby crazy and the older church members next to the property are convinced it is damaging the church's foundation. Plus, the construction crew are Greek and from out of town. When the crew unearths a long dead body, the site is shut down. Now, Roscoe Polycrates and his wife, crossword editor Belle Graham are hired to solve the cold case. An arson & 2 murders keep them busy. The story was slow and plodding, but I really like the puzzles [which were sent to Belle anonymously].

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve never read the Nero Blanc series before and being a huge crossword puzzle addict I decided to try it. Plus it was free. It was ok. Well written and some interesting sleuthing. Not enough interest for me to go back and catch up with earlier books, but if another would turn up free I would read it. Had I owned the physical book, I would have enjoyed working the puzzles.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story with twist at the end. Crosswords were entertaining, too.

[Surreysmum · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is either a mystery with some added crosswords, or a small book of crosswords, with an accompanying mystery, depending on your point of view. It probably serves the crossword puzzler better than the mystery buff.

There are six crosswords, not cryptic; the mystery is set in small-town eastern U.S.. The mystery itself is passable, and does not depend on the reader completing the crosswords for its solution, though a rather awkwardly introduced plot device ensures that the female protagonist, a crossword maker named Belle, gets her principal insights from said crosswords.

For a work that's so self-congratulatory about its use of a wide variety of words, there are some irritating slips of diction in the story, and likewise some slips or downright errors in the crossword clues. Examples of the former: "free reign"; "a might touchy". An example of the latter: "assai" as the solution of "musically quick". ("Assai" means "very". The puzzle-maker probably saw it in the phrase allegro assai, which means very quick - but "assai" by itself as a solution is a nonsense).

I'm not a fan of crosswords that are neither cryptic nor soluble by having a large but modern vocabulary without knowledge of obscure words not in use outside of crossword dictionaries. So I'm probably not the target audience for this volume. In the end, I'm probably being too severe because the work is clearly simply a pass-time. For my money, it was a mediocre one.

[Deborah Wall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A puzzling murder

A nice escape, this is a murder mystery crossword puzzle combination. For those of us who love crossword puzzles, it is quite satisfying.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sixth in the mystery with crosswords series, this time Belle Graham, crossword puzzler extraordinaire, and her husband, PI Roscoe Polycrates, are trying to discover whose body was buried in the garden of an elderly couple's large home over half a century ago. The remains surfaced when a backhoe was excavating for an addition to the building after a local mucky-muck buys it as a trophy house. The remains are identified eventually, but there are still loose ends to tie up, such as who set the fire; and what happened to at least one ex-wife? Interesting characters and a good (not great) plot, but the conclusion feels incomplete.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dead body shows up in the dig of a hated newcomer in Taneysville, Mass. It's the body of a woman but nobody knows who it is. A former resident of the town is running for governor and needs Rosco's help to prove that his hometown isn't a hotbed of criminal activity. Suspects abound as almost all of the locals are bitter about not being involved in the building of the new house and might have dumped a body to stop the new guy from coming in.

[Valerie Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another quick, fun book! I do plan on going back and starting with book one. Even the crosswords were fun - xeroxed and then started filling them in.

[Mary Shipman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like mysteries, I like crossword puzzles, an interesting combination.
Kept me right there all the way, and the surprising end was well worth the read!

[Jean]

Too many loose ends.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 - Very Good