A Crossworder's Delight

Nero Blanc’s bestselling mystery series continues in a holiday tale featuring Belle Graham, Rosco Polycrates, and dessert recipes with ingredients that are clues to the crossword puzzles

The Holiday Decoration Competition is in full swing at Newcastle’s historic Paul Revere Inn. As the rivalry heats up, crossword editor Belle Graham unearths an abandoned treasure: a book of dessert recipes written in the form of crosswords handed down from mother to daughter.

While Belle is busy deciphering the ingredients for delectable dishes like “Holiday Slay Ride,” another mystery is unraveling. A valuable Longfellow poem has been stolen from its place of honor on the wall of the inn’s front parlor. Called in to investigate, Belle’s PI husband, Rosco Polycrates, discovers he has a new partner in crime. Twelve-year-old E. T. Whitman, a bit of a wordsmith himself, has all sorts of theories about the theft. But the case is far from a piece of cake. And the search for the culprit brings the detecting trio closer to a truth that’s been buried for decades.

This ebook includes four crossword puzzles that can be downloaded as PDFs, with answers in the back of the book, plus four holiday dessert recipes.

“Crossword fans will embrace Nero Blanc’s A Crossworder’s Delight.” —Publishers Weekly

“Readers who like to do crossword puzzles will find this book a delight. It is fun to read a regional cozy that has no violence, gore or murders in the storyline yet still grips the reader.” —BookBrowser.com  Nero Blanc is the pseudonym of Steve Zettler and Cordelia Frances Biddle, who are husband and wife and serious crossword buffs. Biddle is also the author of the Martha Beale historical mystery series, which is set in Philadelphia, Zettler and Biddle’s hometown. Their website is www.crosswordmysteries.com.