Savannah Stone is a professional freelance puzzle writer,
published in numerous newspapers. She enjoys her life -- a
challenging profession and a cozy marriage with retired
police chief, Zach. What starts one day as a jaunt into the
city to pick up some supplies turns into an encounter with
Joanna Clayton, a horrible gossip who rarely has anything
nice to say about anyone -- even to their face! Joanna
finds herself forced into having tea with Joanna and two
other women, only to discover that Joanna has decided to
take up puzzle-writing herself. Not only that, but Joanna's
first puzzle has been published in a local newspaper!
On the way home, Savannah tries to calm herself down, but a
call from Zach sends her into a tailspin. Joanna has been
killed, and it seems that the likely culprit is poisoned
tea. Savannah immediately worries that the so-called
puzzle-writing "rivalry" (if one puzzle can be considered a
rivalry) will be considered a motive by police. Things are
instantly complicated by the fact that the Ashville police
want Zach to investigate the case, which he can't do if his
wife is a suspect on the case.
When the police call in a new person to investigate,
Savannah is questioned so thoroughly that she realizes she's
on the suspect list. She decides to do her own
investigating, and Zach (who is consulting on the case) does
what he can to help out. What she discovers, though, is
that Joanna's gossiping, manipulating ways throughout her
life have given a long list of people plenty of motive to
want her dead. Although Savannah definitely had the
opportunity, several others did, as well. But which one had
the means?
A GRID FOR MURDER is an adeptly written, intriguing mystery.
At one point, Savannah is put in the unenviable position of
questioning a good friend who is helping her with the
investigation. While this twist may seem gritty, it's done
in a realistic way that plays out well and is very in
character for Savannah, especially for those who have read
all three books in the Mystery by the Numbers series.
What I especially liked about this book is that the real
culprit is someone who I suspected, then talked myself out
of, then never suspected again because there was always
someone else to suspect.
Savannah Stone makes her living creating puzzles
for logic lovers. But when a novice puzzle maker’s number is
up, Savannah has to fill in the blanks to solve a murder . .
. Savannah would almost rather drink poison
than have tea with Joanna Clayton. Not only is the
unpleasant woman one of the worst gossips in Asheville,
North Carolina, over tea she flaunts her new assignment
creating logic puzzles for a local newspaper—one that has
repeatedly turned down Savannah’s work.
But
when Savannah’s retired police chief husband, Zach, calls
her later to tell her Joanna has actually been poisoned, she
is more than puzzled—she’s troubled. Will the police
consider puzzle envy a strong enough motive and think she
decided to eliminate the competition? It’s time for Savannah
to sort through Joanna’s long list of enemies to find out
who was bitter enough to poison the prospective puzzle maker
. . .
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