PUZZLED 4 MURDER by J.C. Eaton

Cozy Mystery, Jigsaw Puzzles

4****

Blurb: Soaring temperatures and a giant jigsaw puzzle combine to form a picture of murder . . . It’s a blistering hot summer in Sun City West, and members of the retirement community are happy to escape into the air-conditioned bliss of the library to work on a mammoth forty-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle. But things begin heating up inside, too, when members clash with the domineering head of the puzzle committee over which puzzle to solve—until someone settles the matter by killing her. Now it’s up to Sophie “Phee” Kimball to put all the pieces of the murder plot together and catch the culprit responsible. Any number of the jigsaw aficionados could have wanted the victim out of the picture for her personality alone, but Phee suspects there was a more sinister motive behind the murder. Then the chosen puzzle and the library itself are struck by one instance of sabotage after another, and Phee’s convinced that someone is sending a menacing message. But just as she unearths a telling clue and slots it into place, she finds herself in a race against time to finish the puzzle and solve the case—before the killer goes to pieces and finishes her off too . . .

Thoughts: Sophie (Phee) works as an accountant for a private investigator–whose team seems to do more investigating than the local cops do! This is the 14th book in this series, and it’s no less fun than the others. It takes place in Sun City West – a suburb of Phoenix, AZ. In this one, the committee of seniors are putting together a 40,000 piece mega-puzzle that will be featured in a magazine at the end of the summer. Unfortunately, things keep happening to prevent them from finishing the puzzle–an old picture of a street in Phoenix. The lead committee member is found dead, pieces of the puzzle go missing or are defaced, and members receive threatening letters.

It’s up to Phee, her husband (a P.I.) and the rest of the team to decipher exactly what is happening and why, but it takes Phee’s mother’s irritating dog to get to the final answer.

Recommended.

Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book from Netgalley and Beyond the Page Publishing with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”