Overview
It’s February in the small town of Granville, New Hampshire, and Katie McDonald, math geek and curator of the Avondale Puzzle Museum, is up to her ears in snow and the First Annual Avondale Sudoku Challenge. What began as a small event, geared toward regional Sudoku clubs and individuals, has grown to include competitors from up and down the East Coast.
When the Sudden Death Champion is found “suddenly” dead, Katie is forced to deal once again with chief of police Brandon Mitchell. He wants to close the fair for the rest of the weekend, but that would be disastrous for the museum. And besides, Katie thinks, all the suspects are already in one place.... How hard can this be to solve?
Synopsis
Rod Lott - Bookgasm
Despite appearances to the contrary, SUDDEN DEATH SUDOKU is an actual novel, rather than one of the thousands of generic puzzle titles that cram booksellers' shelves. It's Shelley Freydont's second in a series that began last year with THE SUDOKU MURDER. Both share a protagonist in math wiz Katie MacDonald, yet readers need not have read one to enjoy the other . . . SUDDEN DEATH is a good, old-fashioned murder mystery . . . each chapter is prefaced by a solvable sudoku . . .
Editorials
Bookgasm
Despite appearances to the contrary, SUDDEN DEATH SUDOKU is an actual novel, rather than one of the thousands of generic puzzle titles that cram booksellers' shelves. It's Shelley Freydont's second in a series that began last year with THE SUDOKU MURDER. Both share a protagonist in math wiz Katie MacDonald, yet readers need not have read one to enjoy the other . . . SUDDEN DEATH is a good, old-fashioned murder mystery . . . each chapter is prefaced by a solvable sudoku . . .—Rod Lott
Fallen Angel Reviews
Ms. Freydont has done it again and charmed Sudoku and mystery lovers with her second Katie McDonald mystery . . . what fun! It was very interesting to read about how a Sudoku tournament is run and what it might be like to compete . . . In this story, Katie and her assistant Harry are once again trodding on the toes of the police chief as they pursue answers to the ultimate puzzle; who killed the Sudoku player. The Chief is not amused and can't understand why Katie can't just leave the murders alone and let him do his job . . . And as sparks once again fly between Katie and Brandon, I can't help but wonder if there is a potential romance in the works? Whether you like Sudoku or not this series is a fun, charming, cozy mystery series that any mystery lover will enjoy. I hope Ms. Freydont is working on book three because I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!—Stephanie B.
New York Post - Required Reading
This second book of the Katie McDonald Mystery series would make a great cable news obsession: A cheating scandal rocks the First Annual Avondale Sudoku Challenge at the puzzle museum Katie curates in her New Hampshire town. Then, it's followed by two murders. All this, plus real Sudoku puzzles!—Billy Heller
Once Upon a Romance.net
. . . if you're into Sodoku or solving puzzles, this is your kind of series . . . Again, guys, puzzle lovers will adore this kooky little mystery, and the author is good enough to add Sodoku puzzles at the beginning of each chapter for readers to work out on their own. I recommend this book (and series) to puzzle enthusiasts and light mystery readers everywhere.—Mary Lignor