Little does she think that cashing a $10,000 check from the estate of a man who claims to be another of her ex-husbands might put an end to her little cash cow.  Her divorce agreement with Melvin stated that if she were to remarry, he was no longer held responsible for the alimony payments, which he now claims Cora is admitting to by signing the check. Things get complicated as the loan officer at the bank who approved the check being cashed finds his home safe broken into, a KenKen puzzle left inside the vault. 

KenKen is a puzzle that Cora is adept at doing, but it is her attorney Becky who points out that the numbers in the top line read the same amount as Cora’s alimony payments.  The loan officer is called as a witness for the prosecution in Melvin’s case against Cora and is found shot a few days later. Things continue to spiral out of control for Cora, then crossword puzzles begin showing up, giving clues to KenKen puzzles that later turn up that she must solve if she hopes to solve the murder, regain her alimony payments and get back to creating puzzles with Sherry.  

As always, The Puzzle Lady mysteries are good, laugh aloud fun.  Cora is a bit rough around the edges, but is a good foil to the other characters.  Her niece Sherry has just married newspaperman Aaron and Cora is already nagging for a great-niece or nephew.  Cora spars with Becky (who is also Aaron’s ex-girlfriend), but it is not quite as satisfying as when she and Sherry have a go round.  Melvin is smarmy, as is his attorney, current wife and current girlfriend, but nothing less than they should be for this scheme. 

The mystery is well enough plotted, but there are very few surprises at the end.  The KenKen and crossword puzzles are fun as is trying to figure out how they tie into the mystery.  Cora, who has no aptitude for word puzzles, deftly explains how to solve a KenKen so no one is left out.                                                                                                              

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry