Puzzle Lady Books in Order
Part ofParnell Hall Books in OrderFind the Puzzle Lady books in order by Parnell Hall, with quick summaries, series background, and an easy guide to where new readers should start.
Last updated: July 1, 2026
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Publication Order
21 books
A Clue for the Puzzle Lady
by Parnell Hall
1999
When a young girl's body is found in the cemetery with a clue in her pocket, Bakerhaven's police turn to Cora Felton. Unfortunately, the celebrated Puzzle Lady cannot actually solve a crossword.
Last Puzzle & Testament
by Parnell Hall
2000
An eccentric old woman's will sends greedy heirs on a crossword scavenger hunt for her fortune. Cora has to referee the madness while the body count makes the game much riskier.
Puzzled to Death
by Parnell Hall
2001
Bakerhaven hosts a crossword puzzle tournament, which sounds wholesome enough until murder arrives. Cora dives into the case, bringing her usual mix of bluff, nerve, and comic disruption.
A Puzzle in a Pear Tree
by Parnell Hall
2002
Christmas in Bakerhaven brings a staged *Twelve Days of Christmas*, a live Nativity, and murder in both directions. Cora and Sherry have seasonal duties, but homicide keeps stealing the spotlight.
With this Puzzle, I Thee Kill
by Parnell Hall
2003
Cora is heading toward yet another wedding, including a deeply awkward double ceremony, when murder crashes the event. Family chaos, romance, and homicide make an especially unruly combination.
And a Puzzle to Die On
by Parnell Hall
2004
Cora starts poking into a twenty-year-old murder case and quickly learns somebody wants the past left alone. The more she pushes, the harder a present-day killer pushes back.
Stalking the Puzzle Lady
by Parnell Hall
2005
Cora is stuck on a dreary publicity tour for a cereal company until a killer starts stalking her and leaving crossword clues. Suddenly the shopping malls are a lot less boring.
You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled
by Parnell Hall
2006
A simple job helping Chief Harper with some stolen chairs should not end with Cora under arrest for murder. But Bakerhaven is not built for simple jobs, especially when Cora is involved.
The Sudoku Puzzle Murders
by Parnell Hall
2008
Cora may be hopeless at crosswords, but she is a whiz at sudoku, which matters when Japanese publishers arrive in Bakerhaven. Then murder strikes, and the clues refuse to stick to just one kind of puzzle.
Dead Man's Puzzle
by Parnell Hall
2009
With Sherry away on her honeymoon, Cora has to manage on her own when a hermit is found dead with a crossword clue. For a woman who cannot solve crosswords, that is especially rude.
The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady
by Parnell Hall
2009
A Japanese puzzle celebrity arrives in Bakerhaven and immediately gives Cora real competition, both in puzzles and in crime solving. Their rivalry gets sharper when murder enters the picture and suspicion starts flying.
The KenKen Killings
by Parnell Hall
2011
Cora's ex-husband Melvin is already making trouble in court when witnesses start dying and KenKen puzzles appear on the bodies. The worst part is that he may be innocent, and Cora may have to help him.
$10,000 in Small, Unmarked Puzzles
by Parnell Hall
2012
A blackmail payoff goes spectacularly wrong when the money vanishes and Cora winds up near a corpse. Add crossword clues, an ex-husband in trouble, and danger circling Sherry's family, and the chaos multiplies.
Arsenic and Old Puzzles
by Parnell Hall
2013
A poisoning at a Bakerhaven bed-and-breakfast echoes an old movie plot, but the danger is real enough. Cora has to sort through bodies, clues, and crossword mischief before the joke turns deadlier.
Lethal Luncheon
by Parnell Hall
2013
Cora is dreading a charity luncheon talk until one of the guests is poisoned. A bad afternoon improves considerably once she gets to stop speaking about puzzles and start solving a murder.
NYPD Puzzle
by Parnell Hall
2014
A trip to a New York penthouse should have been simple, until Cora and Becky Baldwin find the client dead with a crossword on his chest. Soon Cora is staring at murder charges of her own.
Puzzled Indemnity
by Parnell Hall
2015
A suspicious insurance policy makes one wife sure her husband is planning murder. When he turns up dead instead, Cora has to clear the widow before the wrong theory becomes an arrest.
Presumed Puzzled
by Parnell Hall
2016
A woman is found drenched in blood over her dead husband and headed for trial. When Cora starts helping the defense, the evidence she uncovers seems to point straight back at her.
A Puzzle to be Named Later
by Parnell Hall
2017
When a Yankees rookie comes to quiet Bakerhaven to rehab an injured arm, peace does not last long. Cora soon finds herself surrounded by puzzles, gossip, and another murder to untangle.
The Purloined Puzzle
by Parnell Hall
2018
Cora's least favorite ex-husband, Melvin, is in jail for murder and making things worse by writing a tell-all about her. That is more than enough reason for Cora to start asking dangerous questions.
Lights! Camera! Puzzles!
by Parnell Hall
2019
Cora Felton's life is being turned into a movie, which sounds flattering until somebody starts targeting the cast and crew. Bakerhaven chaos meets show business mayhem in this breezy Puzzle Lady outing.
Series background & context
The Puzzle Lady series is built on one of Parnell Hall's best ideas. Cora Felton is famous as the Puzzle Lady, a nationally known crossword personality living in the small Connecticut town of Bakerhaven. The catch is that Cora cannot actually solve a crossword puzzle. She is a fraud in public, a menace in private, and somehow still very good at solving murders.
That secret gives the whole series its kick.
Cora's niece Sherry is the quiet brains behind the puzzle side of the operation, while Cora brings noise, nerve, and absolute refusal to stay out of other people's business. Around them is a strong supporting cast that helps keep Bakerhaven lively, including police, reporters, lawyers, ex-husbands, and assorted locals who would all be happier if Cora minded her own business. She never does. That is why the books work.
Bakerhaven matters as much as any single character. Hall uses the town the way good cozy mystery writers use a village stage, as a place where everyone knows everyone, old grudges stay warm, and even a charity luncheon or holiday pageant can slide into mayhem. The setting lets Hall move easily from cemeteries and inns to malls, courtrooms, bed-and-breakfasts, and town-square events, always with the feeling that gossip is moving just a little faster than the police.
Across the series, the murders often come with a puzzle hook. Sometimes it is a crossword. Sometimes it is sudoku or KenKen. Sometimes the clue is simply the absurdity of Cora trying to preserve her reputation while bluffing her way through a case she is not equipped to solve on paper. That balance between comic fraud and real danger keeps the books light on their feet. They are mysteries first, but they never forget to have fun.
Cora is a big personality. She drinks, lies, meddles, flirts, bulldozes, and keeps going long after common sense should have stopped her. If you like traditional puzzle mysteries with jokes, recurring characters, and just enough small-town disorder to keep everything humming, the Puzzle Lady books are very easy to settle into. Start with A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, and expect plenty of bodies, banter, and clues hidden in plain sight.
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