LAST PUZZLE & TESTAMENT

One Across: Fishy decoys. (Answer below.) Crossword puzzles provide the clues and most of the drama for this sequel to A Clue for the Puzzle Lady (1999). Emma Hurley has posthumously appointed crossword celebrity Cora Felton judge of a contest to decide which unattractive relative will inherit her millions. Phyllis and Phillip, Emma's niece and nephew, take sibling rivalry to new lows. Daniel, another nephew's son, seems to be waiting for an Easy Rider 2 casting call. Emma’s brother Chester lives like a primitive Puritan. Annabel, another niece, has escaped the Hurley personality, but unfortunately not the Hurley looks. All except Chester and Annabel race to solve a crossword sending them to clues hidden around town. Unfortunately, although Cora may be the Puzzle Lady's public image, it's her niece Sherry who constructs the crosswords—and who has to struggle to keep her hard-drinking aunt sober while she races the desperate Hurleys to solve clues. She’s sorely distracted, however, by nice Aaron Grant, whose high-school flame, gorgeous Becky Baldwin, has returned from law school to defend the town drunk, who broke into the Hurley mansion just before the contest began. But Becky’s client is killed. And so is Annabel, after insisting that Emma's puzzle is, well, puzzling. So Cora works on the murders, while Sherry tackles the crossword and worries about Aaron. Can they find an answer to the last kill and puzzlement?

One Across: Red herrings, lots of them. Crossword fans should enjoy the wordplay, but others may find characters flat and the jovial treatment of alcoholism cavalier.