It's murder most puzzling for a New England cop-turned-private-investigator and a crossword editor in the first three Crossword Mysteries. If there's a case too cryptic for the police to solve in the coastal town of Newcastle, Massachusetts, locals can always count on private investigator Rosco Polycrates and crossword editor Annabelle Graham to get things squared away ... The Crossword Murder: Thompson C. Briephs, a wealthy playboy and crossword editor for the Newcastle Herald, is found strangled in his bed. Although the police assume he died from kinky sex gone wrong, Rosco thinks the answer isn't so black-and-white, and enlists the help of Annabelle. With a lengthy list of suspects and five of Briephs's puzzles to help them fill in the blanks, Rosco and Annabelle must hurry if they hope to take down the killer. Two Down: After a daytime soap star and her friend vanish while yachting off Nantucket, all that's found are the charred remnants of their boat. But when mysterious crosswords begin arriving on Annabelle's doorstep, she believes the women are still alive. With the clock ticking, she'll need to keep her pencil sharp and her wits sharper before this missing persons case turns into a double murder. The Crossword Connection: Rosco and Annabelle are preparing to tie the knot. But before they can walk down the aisle, they must deal with two murders and a missing dog. Then, Rosco disappears. Soon Annabelle begins receiving threatening messages concealed in fiendishly clever crossword clues, and she realizes she must act fast to find Rosco before he winds up a four-letter word: dead. This ebook includes crossword puzzles that can be downloaded as PDFs, with answers in the back of the book.

Crosswords get the Hollywood treatment in this mystery featuring PI Rosco Polycrates and master puzzle solver Belle Graham Jamaica Nevisson—or Cassandra Lovett, as she’s known to the adoring fans of her daytime soap—has vanished without a trace. She and her pal Genie Pepper went pleasure yachting off Nantucket, only to end up lost at sea. So far, only the charred hull of the boat has turned up. Called in by Pepper’s husband, Massachusetts detective Rosco Polycrates and crossword editor Belle Graham uncover a list of potential evildoers that reads like a who’s who of Hollywood vipers, including paparazzi stalker Reggie Flack, Jamaica’s longtime nemesis. But when Belle starts receiving cryptic crosswords, she believes the women are alive and in grave danger. Now she’s up against the clock as she races to unravel the messages before someone completes an across-the-board coup. Because with two down, that leaves only one more to go. This ebook includes six crossword puzzles that can be downloaded as PDFs, with answers in the back of the book. Two Down is the 2nd book in the Crossword Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

PI Rosco Polycrates and crossword editor Belle Graham are about to tie the knot, but a nasty case of multiple murders could give them cold feet A homeless man has been found in an alley, clobbered to death. The crime seems pretty cut and dried—vagrants fighting over turf—until the Newcastle Police Department uncovers a connection to a local shelter in danger of being taken over by greedy developers. Is the dead John Doe a victim of some sinister plot? And what became of the scruffy mutt he had recently adopted? Recruited to find the missing puppy, private investigator Rosco Polycrates has to juggle the search with his upcoming nuptials to Belle Graham. And soon a second murder shatters the serenity of their scenic Massachusetts town. Then Rosco disappears . . . and Belle starts receiving threatening messages concealed in fiendishly clever crossword clues. Will Rosco become the third victim? With time running out, the Queen of Cryptics races to fill in the blanks before her wedding is put on hold—forever. This ebook includes six crossword puzzles that can be downloaded as PDFs, with answers in the back of the book. The Crossword Connection is the 3rd book in the Crossword Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Solving puzzles can be murder when a PI and a crossword editor join forces to catch a killer in the first novel of Nero Blanc’s fiendishly clever crossword mystery series Playboy Thompson C. Briephs has just been found strangled in his bed. The police believe the Newcastle Herald crossword editor, a scion of a blue-blooded New England family, died from kinky sex gone wrong. But cop-turned–private investigator Rosco Polycrates thinks there’s a six-letter word for what happened. Enlisting the help of Annabelle Graham, the crossword editor for a rival paper, Rosco unearths a crazy quilt of suspects who had it in for the victim—and one of them was blackmailing him. Belle is certain the answers lie in Briephs’s twisty puzzlers. Now she and Rosco will have to employ some dazzling wordplay of their own to stop a cunning killer from crossing paths with another victim. Readers will delight in solving the crime, along with six crossword puzzles, which can be downloaded as PDFs, with answers in the back of the book. The Crossword Murder is a book to be savored by mystery lovers and crossword-puzzle enthusiasts alike. The Crossword Murder is the 1st book in the Crossword Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Crossword editor Belle Graham and her P.I. hubby Rosco expose the dark side of a murder victim and his not-so-charitable work in this mystery that delivers crossword puzzles in the text.

1 DOWN: DEATH BY HOMICIDE Quinn Carr wishes her life could be more like a crossword puzzle: neat, orderly, and perfectly arranged. At least her passion for puzzles, flair for words—and mild case of OCD—have landed her a gig creating crosswords for the local paper. But if she ever hopes to move out of her parents’ house, she can’t give up her day job as a waitress. She needs the tips. But when a customer ends up dead at her table—face down in biscuits and gravy—Quinn needs to get a clue to find whodunit . . . 6 LETTERS, STARTS WITH “M” It turns out that solving a murder is a lot harder than a creating a crossword. Quinn has plenty of suspects—up, down, and across. One of them is her boss, the owner of the diner who shares a culinary past with the victim. Two of them are ex-wives, her boss’s and the victim’s. A third complication is the Chief of Police who refuses to allow much investigation, preferring the pretense their town has no crime. To solve this mystery, Quinn has to think outside the boxes—before the killer gets the last word . . . “FRESH, FAST, AND FURIOUSLY FUN . . . Becky Clark writes with wry wit, a keen eye, and no shortage of authority.” —Brad Parks , Shamus Award-winning author (on Fiction Can Be Murder) Includes original crossword puzzles, also downloadable from BeckyClarkBooks.com!