Dead Man's Puzzle by Parnell Hall

In ten words or less: Sherry's in Africa; Cora bluffs her way through another investigation.

Review: Cora Felton is at loose ends with her niece Sherry on her honeymoon in Africa. Sherry had it all planned out for Cora--she left her a supply of crossword puzzles to fax to her editor, for few people know that Cora's a fake and that Sherry is the real Puzzle Lady.

But when an elderly man is found dead in a dilapidated shack, the Chief of Police brings Cora a puzzle the man had on his table. And what had been assumed to be a natural death turned into a murder, and as usual, Sherry's ex-husband is right in the middle.

Why bother? A reader might wonder why the police chief lets a nosy amateur push her way into every murder investigation in his jurisdiction, but Cora always manages to close the case--even when they're fifty years old. Always great fun!