One Accident Augurs Three Deaths in The Puzzle Lady vs The Sudoku Lady

Summary: One accident augurs three deaths in The Puzzle Lady vs The Sudoku Lady, 11th mystery in the Puzzle Lady series authored by Parnell Hall.

Perhaps Japanese acquaintances and those acquainted with Japanese cultural history ask whether Michiko (from Japanese 美智子, “beautiful, wise child”), averse to kimono attire and avid about jean accessories, aspires to a traditional Japanese wedding. Her namesake, Empress Emerita Michoko (born Michiko Shoda, Oct. 20, 1934), assented to one such ceremony as a commoner attracting the marital attentions of Crown Prince (investiture, Nov. 10, 1952), subsequent Emperor (enthronement, Nov. 12, 1990) and present Emperor Emeritus (abdication, Apr. 30, 2019) Akihito (born Dec. 23, 1933). Availing herself of subsequent photographs throughout the imperial marriage perhaps assure the fictitious Michiko that attiring oneself in a kimono one time never attaches one to such attire at all times and in all places; May 2013 image of Empress Michiko feeding mulberry leaves to silkworms in the sericulture center on the Imperial Palace Grounds: Website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, CC BY 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

One accident augurs three deaths by accident, intent, self-defense in The Puzzle Lady vs The Sudoku Lady, 11th mystery in the Puzzle Lady series by Parnell Hall (Oct. 31, 1934-Dec. 15, 2020).

Agents Sebastian Billingham and Irving Swartzman bring together their respective sudoku (from Japanese 数独, “numbers singly”) puzzle ladies, Minami (from Japanese 南, “south”) and Cora Felton. Cora costumes herself in a Camel filter cigarette-burned, dangling-threaded, food-stained, loose, torn smock for family and a tweed jacket and albeit tight skirt for her public. Michiko (from Japanese 美智子, “beautiful, wise child”) and Aunt Minami don silk kimonos for interviews with Bakerhaven Gazette reporter Freddie and Channel 8 newsman Rick Reed.

Cora enters the Fielding house after Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and medical examiner Dr. Barney Nathan extract the expired Ida even as Jason endures Bakerhaven jail.

Ida figured among morning customers at Mary Cushman’s Bake Shop and, her last Earthly evening with Steve Preston, among Bakerhaven mall customers around 7:30, 7:45 p.m.

Thelma Wilson, not a Danbury employee on one side or the deaf 92-year-old neighbor on the other, glimpses who goes in and out the Preston residence. Dennis Pride, with a client in Westport and second wife Brenda Wallenstein in New York City, heads into the Preston house after Minami and before Michiko. Long- and slick-haired Dennis, as Cora’s ex-nephew-in-law and Sherry Carter Grant’s first husband, impresses Michiko, who inclines toward low-rise jeans with purple tank top or T-shirt.

One weapon one accident, another weapon two deaths jeopardize judging three deaths as all accidental, intentional or self-defensive in The Puzzle Lady vs The Sudoku Lady.

Cora knows Sheila, killed during Steve’s Manhattan-based office hours, as Mary’s customer, Walmart cashier until three weeks earlier and women’s annual pledge driver for public radio.

The cleaning lady, Minami and, as an anonymous caller, Cora respectively let Bakerhaven Police Chief Dale Harper in on the Fielding, Preston and Wilson crime scenes. Officers Sam Brogan and Dan Finley manage three crime scenes, of which the last two make Dennis, despite briefcase and three-piece suit, and Minami murder suspects. Irving, less noteworthy in his pin-striped suit than Dennis in his three-piece suit, nets a live interview with Rick, newsman to whom Dan nudges news-breaking tips.

One accident, three deaths occupy puzzle-constructing and solving Harvey Beerbaum without obstructing his puzzle-solving for Cora and Dale in The Puzzle Lady vs The Sudoku Lady.

Harvey provides puzzle solutions for Cora even as he prepares, in cummerbund and dinner jacket, for a charity crossword puzzle convention where he presents an award.

Judge Hobbs and County Prosecutor Henry Firth question Becky Baldwin, with a law office atop the pizza parlor near Bakerhaven police, as attorney for two suspects. Becky rescues Dennis from probation board-related repercussions for not respecting Sherry’s restraining order and Minami from reduced revenue regarding Solving Sudoku with the Sudoku Lady book. Cora, whose lawlessness surprises law-abiders from Judy Griswold back in the fourth grade to Becky, solves all three crimes before nephew-in-law Aaron starts Carter/Felton/Grant residence renovations.

Becky never takes anyone innocent of one accident among three deaths, but guilty of one intentional, another self-defensive, in The Puzzle Lady vs The Sudoku Lady.

Japanese language speakers associate the name Minami amiably with the southerly direction that a traditional Japanese house faces and with the Southern Seas (from Japanese 南洋, "south seas") where the League of Nations (Jan. 10 1920-Apr. 20, 1946) awarded the Empire of Japan (Apr. 7, 1868-May 3, 1947) the islands now assimilated into Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands and Palau. And yet it also avows angrier aspects with its application to the Nankai Trough (from Japanese 南海トラフ, "Southern Sea Trough") and its megathrust earthquakes south of Nankaido (from Japanese 南海道, "southern sea circuit, southern sea region"), Honshu (from Japanese 本州, "main province") island, Japan; 2008 location map of Nankai Trough: Geodaugherty at English Wikipedia, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Perhaps Japanese acquaintances and those acquainted with Japanese cultural history ask whether Michiko (from Japanese 美智子, “beautiful, wise child”), averse to kimono attire and avid about jean accessories, aspires to a traditional Japanese wedding. Her namesake, Empress Emerita Michoko (born Michiko Shoda, Oct. 20, 1934), assented to one such ceremony as a commoner attracting the marital attentions of Crown Prince (investiture, Nov. 10, 1952), subsequent Emperor (enthronement, Nov. 12, 1990) and present Emperor Emeritus (abdication, Apr. 30, 2019) Akihito (born Dec. 23, 1933). Availing herself of subsequent photographs throughout the imperial marriage perhaps assure the fictitious Michiko that attiring oneself in a kimono one time never attaches one to such attire at all times and in all places; May 2013 image of Empress Michiko feeding mulberry leaves to silkworms in the sericulture center on the Imperial Palace Grounds: Website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, CC BY 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Empress_raising_silkworms_at_the_Palace.jpg; May be freely used, copied, publicly transmitted, translated or otherwise modified on condition that the user complies with provisions 1) to 6) below, with the exception of Content where other terms of use are applied. Commercial use of Content is also permitted, via Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan @ https://www.mofa.go.jp/s_sa/sea2/ph/page24e_000129_2017.html

Japanese language speakers associate the name Minami amiably with the southerly direction that a traditional Japanese house faces and with the Southern Seas (from Japanese 南洋, "south seas") where the League of Nations (Jan. 10 1920-Apr. 20, 1946) awarded the Empire of Japan (Apr. 7, 1868-May 3, 1947) the islands now assimilated into Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands and Palau. And yet it also avows angrier aspects with its application to the Nankai Trough (from Japanese 南海トラフ, "Southern Sea Trough") and its megathrust earthquakes south of Nankaido (from Japanese 南海道, "southern sea circuit, southern sea region"), Honshu (from Japanese 本州, "main province") island, Japan; 2008 location map of Nankai Trough: Geodaugherty at English Wikipedia, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nankai_Trough_location_map.jpg

For further information:

Hall, Parnell. 2019. Lights! Camera! Puzzles! New York NY; London UK: Pegasus Crime.

Hall, Parnell. 2018. The Purloined Puzzle. New York NY: Minotaur Books, A Thomas Dunne Book, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2017. A Puzzle To Be Named Later. New York NY: Minotaur Books, A Thomas Dunne Book, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2016. Presumed Puzzled. New York NY: Minotaur Books, A Thomas Dunne Book, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2015. Puzzled Indemnity. New York NY: Minotaur Books, A Thomas Dunne Book, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2014. NYPD Puzzle. New York NY: Minotaur Books, A Thomas Dunne Book, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2013. Arsenic and Old Puzzles. New York NY: Minotaur Books, A Thomas Dunne Book, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2012. $10,000 in Small, Unmarked Puzzles. New York NY: Minotaur Books, A Thomas Dunne Book, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2011. The Kenken Killings. New York NY: Minotaur Books, A Thomas Dunne Book, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2010. The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady. New York NY: Minotaur Books, A Thomas Dunne Book, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2009. Dead Man's Puzzle. New York NY: Minotaur Books, A Thomas Dunne Book for Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2008. The Sudoku Puzzle Murders. New York NY: Thomas Dunne Books St. Martin's Minotaur, an imprint of St. Martin's Press.

Hall, Parnell. 2006. You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled. New York NY: Bantam Books, division of Random House, Inc.

Hall, Parnell. 2005. Stalking the Puzzle Lady. New York NY: Bantam Books, division of Random House, Inc.

Hall, Parnell. 2004. And a Puzzle to Die On. New York NY: Bantam Books, division of Random House, Inc.

Hall, Parnell. 2003. With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill. New York NY: Bantam Books, division of Random House, Inc.

Hall, Parnell. 2002. A Puzzle in a Pear Tree. New York NY: Bantam Books, division of Random House, Inc.

Hall, Parnell. 2001. Puzzled to Death. New York NY: Bantam Books, division of Random House, Inc.

Hall, Parnell. 2000. Last Puzzle & Testament. New York NY: Bantam Books, division of Random House, Inc.

Hall, Parnell. 1999. A Clue for the Puzzle Lady. New York NY: Bantam Books, division of Random House, Inc.

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/07/perhaps-puzzle-lady-vs-sudoku-lady.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/07/bakerhaven-arrivals-are-by-car-in.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/07/intestate-acts-are-are-not-intestate.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/06/fast-food-and-safari-food-are-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 June 2021. "Alabama and New York Add to Bakerhaven Traffic in Dead Man’s Puzzle." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/06/alabama-and-new-york-add-to-bakerhaven.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/06/all-are-aware-of-private-investigators.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/06/martini-muffins-pancakes-and-scotch.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/06/bakerhaven-new-york-and-tokyo-are-close.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/05/betting-puzzling-suing-are-why-you-have.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 May 2021. "Starbucks Caramel Adds Acuity in You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/05/starbucks-caramel-adds-acuity-in-you.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/05/you-have-right-to-remain-puzzled-alerts.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/04/granville-grains-corn-toasties-appall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 27 April 2021. "Granville Grains Corn Toasties Appall Cora in Stalking the Puzzle Lady." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/04/granville-grains-corn-toasties-appall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 20 April 2021. "Coastal Connecticut Attracts Reality Ads in Stalking the Puzzle Lady." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/04/coastal-connecticut-attracts-reality.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 April 2021. "And a Puzzle to Die On Augments Bakerhaven Acquaintances by One." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/04/and-puzzle-to-die-on-augments.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 April 2021. "A Birthday Bash And a Puzzle to Die On Await Cora and an Outsider." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-birthday-bash-and-puzzle-to-die-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 March 2021. "Bakerhaven Maps Aim a Victim at a Birthday Bash And a Puzzle to Die On." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/03/bakerhaven-maps-aim-victim-at-birthday.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 23 March 2021. "Four Cryptograms Assure Two Deaths in With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/03/four-cryptograms-assure-two-deaths-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 March 2021. "Honeyed Lemoned Teas Are For Fiancees in With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/03/honeyed-lemoned-teas-are-for-fiancees.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 March 2021. "Manhattan and San Diego Account For Why With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/03/manhattan-and-san-diego-account-for-why.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/03/christmas-carolers-are-three-voices.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-puzzle-in-pear-tree-alters-christmas.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/02/tristate-access-adds-broadway-director.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/02/attorney-becky-baldwin-maybe-aces-new.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 February 2021. "Perhaps Fun Night Attendees Ate All Free Desserts in Puzzled to Death." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/02/perhaps-fun-night-attendees-ate-all.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/01/new-yorkers-adapt-to-less-light-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 January 2021. "Fifteen Million Dollars Avenge Old Wrongs in Last Puzzle and Testament." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/01/fifteen-million-dollars-avenge-old.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/01/chicken-soup-awes-all-but-appears.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 January 2021. "Interstate Highways Add More Hurley Heirs to Last Puzzle and Testament." Earth and Space News. Tuesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/01/interstate-highways-add-more-hurley.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/12/bakerhaven-acquaintances-afford-clue.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/12/bakerhaven-alcohol-acts-as-clue-for.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/12/an-actual-bakerhaven-map-never-appears.html

Martyris, Nina. 15 November 2016. "The Story Behind The 'Tea and Oranges' In Leonard Cohen's Song 'Suzanne'." National Public Radio > Arts & Life > Food > The Salt What's On Your Plate > Tea Tuesday.
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"Puzzle Lady." Parnell Hall.com > Books. Website by Kate Anchev/Outbox Online Design Studio.
Available @ http://parnellhall.com/puzzle-lady/