The pseudonymous Blanc (husband-and-wife writing team Steve Zettler and Cordelia Frances Biddle) has constructed another neat whodunit, along with some clever crosswords, in this third outing (after The Crossword Murder
and Two Down). Crossword creator Belle Graham is happily anticipating her upcoming nuptials to private investigator Rosco Polycrates when the murder of a homeless man in an alley in Newcastle, Mass., threatens to derail those plans. Is the murder part of a plot designed to shut down a homeless shelter so that developers can take over the property? And what happened to the puppy the murder victim had recently adopted? Local grande dame Sara Crane Briephs hires Rosco to find the missing pup, giving him a legitimate reason (other than sheer nosiness) to be involved in the case. The situation turns uglier when a second murder occurs. Soon Rosco disappears, and Belle receives odd and threatening messages in the form of devilishly contrived crossword clues, which she thinks are coming from the kidnapper. Can Rosco's former partner, Lieutenant Al Lever, find him in time for the wedding to go ahead as planned? Though only the two main characters are much more than genial stereotypes, Blanc builds the suspense slowly and surely, challenging the reader with a dandy puzzler. (July 10)
