Puzzle Me a Murder (An Alice Pepper Lonely Hearts and Puzzle Club Mystery) by Roz Noonan #Review /#ARCGiveaway @KensingtonBooks

Puzzle Me a Murder (An Alice Pepper Lonely Hearts and Puzzle Club Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Oregon
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Cozies (July 23, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496746716
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496746719
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CLZ38GR2
Audiobook ASIN B0D2LRJ7GV

The Golden Girls meets puzzle lovers in New York Times bestselling author Roz Noonan’s first Pacific Northwest-set Alice Pepper Lonely Hearts Puzzle Club Mystery!

Empathetic to a fault, librarian Alice Pepper always had a natural talent for figuring out people and puzzles in the small Oregon town of West Hazel. But as a mystery permeates the quiet Pacific Northwestern community, murder is a challenge she’s not prepared to solve . . .

Down-on-her-luck Alice had hoped to retire before turning sixty-five, not struggle to keep her cozy home and dependable job. But even after divorce leaves her golden years a mess, the pieces always come together with a little help from her friends—a fun-loving crew who thrive on jigsaws over coffee, cocktails, and gossip. So, when it’s time to defend close confidant Ruby Milliner, she springs into action. Only, in this case, supporting Ruby means proving she didn’t murder her cheating husband!

Ruby never wanted to kill George, although anger can make a person say questionable—and incriminating—things. And scheming, deceitful George made a lot of people angry. A quick investigation reveals the man was blackmailing whoever he could for a quick payday, from his mistress to the most prominent residents in town . . .

Alice dives into a secret search to exonerate Ruby, fiercely committed to cracking the crime and patching up torn relationships along the way. Despite using her unassuming persona to fly under the radar, slimming down a massive suspect list and restoring peace to West Hazel is a real gamble. Because if successful, Alice will meet a vengeful killer whose game she doesn’t yet know how to play.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Coffee, cocktails, gossip, murder, and JIGSAW PUZZLES!

Librarian Alice Pepper’s life has had a few bumps along the way making it impossible to retire and enjoy her golden years. With help from her friends, she is enjoying life as it is until her best friend’s husband is murdered. Alice does have a way of reading people and solving puzzles in addition to jigsaw, so when her friend Ruby becomes a suspect in her husband George’s murder she jumps right in to clear her name. She finds George was a man of many secrets which deepens the pool of suspects including some very prominent West Hazel residents. This puts Alice in a dangerous situation because as she pares down the list of suspects she puts herself in the killer’s sights.

Ms. Noonan has introduced a smart, relatable, mature protagonist in Alice Pepper. The twists and turns of her life are similar to so many women these days. She is getting through every day the best that she can. For her, that means working longer than originally planned at a job she excels at and allowing friends and family to rent rooms in her spacious house. Right now, that includes her sister Violet who works as a vice principal and is spiritually into tarot cards, vibrations, and rituals. Alice’s granddaughter, Taylor, “a twenty-two-year-old hipster” still trying to find her place in the world lives in a basement room and only pays rent occasionally. Taylor has a twin sister, Madison and she is a rookie cop. With her husband being murdered in their home, Alice’s BFF Ruby is staying with her as well. All the core characters develop well throughout the story and are likable. I love that the main characters are my age.

The author does a great job at world-building especially Alice’s home/Alice’s Castle. It’s an old craftsman-style home renovated in the 1990s by a “tech prince” to “include a handful of en suite bedrooms” so the house be used for employee functions. Those plans didn’t work out so Alice and her husband at the time got a great deal. Alice was able to hold on to the house after the divorce.  Ruby’s house is only a few blocks away and it as well as the town of West Hazel is vividly described.

Recently my husband and I were bitten by the jigsaw puzzle bug so I love the jigsaw puzzle theme. Alice, Ruby, and Violet always have a puzzle on the table to work on, sometimes as they work their way to puzzling out much heavier topics like murder. They also trade puzzles with the local senior center where Alice and Violet’s Aunt Gildy resides. They visit her often for special meals and to do puzzles. You never know, Gildy may have information they can use to catch the killer. The center manager Stone Donahue may be eager to help too.

A lot happens within these pages. The mystery was very well plotted and blends easily with several subplots. The victim was doing some shady dealing that gave many people motive to want him dead. I enjoyed following the clues with Alice and her crew. It helped that West Hazel has a small police department and a granddaughter on the force. I know she overshared with the group but that is what happens in a small town. Plus gossip rolls quickly through the community. The puzzle pieces clicked into place for me before Alice but the sting, the fight, and the takedown were priceless.

Puzzle Me a Murder was an entertaining read with a puzzling mystery and engaging characters set in a charming little Oregon town. It shines a light on how fulfilling life could be starting over with good friends and family by your side. I am keen to see what mystery Alice, her family, and friends puzzle out next.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

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