The Sudoku Inheritance by Jeff Pratt

GOVERNMENT HEALTH WARNING
Sudoku can seriously damage your health.

"The Sudoku Inheritance" is a fast-paced mystery adventure; a tongue-in-cheek thriller.

One look at the SuDoku puzzle told him that it belonged in the extremely fiendish category. What it didn't tell him was just how fiendish the other players would turn out to be.

Jack-the-Lad Nathan usually has his pick of the girls and now he wants goddess Jasmine. But she's out of reach and out of the question. In fact, twenty unfathomable questions and an unsolvable SuDoku puzzle stand in the way to her bed, let alone her heart.

Jasmine's capricious sister, Sophia, can smell money - lots of it, whilst Lewis the solicitor, executor of their father's will, seems to be stretching the law like elastic, but whose side is he on?

Together they form an uneasy alliance to solve the puzzle. Can the sisters trust Nathan, who just happened to be there when they needed him? Can they trust each other when there's romance at stake, let alone a fortune? And can Nathan trust anyone? Even himself?

A desperate race against the clock, and unseen opponents, takes them from opulent Italy to seedy London, and back to their long-buried childhoods where everyone seems to have hidden a skeleton or three. Nathan soon becomes Jack-the-Had as thieves rob him, clients attack him and colleagues betray him. As friends too desert him, so does his sanity.

The SuDoku Inheritance is a fast-paced mystery adventure, but above all it's a story about people: their lives, their loves, their lies - and their puzzles.

Sit back and enjoy the ride as the puzzle unfolds or follow the clues and race them to the treasure.

Before reading this book, heed the following warning from Nathan!

The girls thought that soo-do-koo was a number thirty-nine on the Chinese take-away menu, to be enjoyed with sweet-and-sour sauce and special fried rice. Neither of them had attempted the number puzzle before but that didn't stop them tackling this particular infernal SuDoku. Whether driven by paternal love or simple greed, they would both soon be experiencing its sweet-and-sour aftertaste.

Me? I'm a bit of an expert if I say so myself. Anything that requires a half-decent brain and a shed-load of logic and I'm your man. Somehow that hasn't really helped me this time. In fact, it's damn near killed me.

One minute I was Jack-the-Lad: stacks of dosh, a girl a day to keep the doctor away, primed for some new Italian home-cooking - if you take my meaning; the world smelt fresh and promising; no worries, mate. Next minute I was Jack-the-had: sued for zillions of pounds, sniffing around the foul arse-end of Southwark SE1, hounded by the fuzz, and with enough problems to wear out even titanium worry beads.

My career has careered right off its tracks. My so-called colleagues have screwed me, good and proper, with size-twelve cross-head self-tappers. Unemployed. Unemployable. Nobody would allow me to empty their dustbins let alone fix their mission-critical software systems.

Then there's plod, trying to feel my size sixteen Hermes collar. Old Bill have fingered me for kidnap but they can't prove it. I've a cast-iron alibi that says I didn't do it. Trouble is, it's beginning to go rusty, 'cause I did. Seems very unfair, especially as they haven't yet found Mitzi, my one true love. Also forcefully kidnapped. I fear for her safety. Alone. Scared.

And then there's the bodies. They keep piling up. Stiffs everywhere. Three so far. Four if you include the rat. Only one was down to me but I sense another in the offing. And one more if you count my imminent suicide, which I'm now putting the finishing touches to.

How did life get so dark? One day at a time, that's how. Starting with that siren Thursday. I should have walked away. But no. My groin said stay. And it always wins.

One look at the SuDoku told me that it belonged in the "extremely fiendish" category. What it didn't tell me was precisely how fiendish the other players would turn out to be. Male or female. Black or white. Beatles' fan or Mozart. Who could you trust? It should have been a doddle. They always are. Hard, difficult, fiendish - bring 'em on, I say. It should've been a steal. In fact, I stole it from Jasmine. Goddess Jasmine, from the New Church of Sainsbury's. I hadn't yet managed to steal her heart so I started with something easier. Easier? Yeah right!

Oh, and I haven't even begun to mention the family baggage. More skeletons in more cupboards than the average city mortuary. And that's before we get to mine. As for clues? Well, the fish counter at my local Tesco has fewer red herrings.

The SuDoku wasn't hard. Not even difficult. Just frigging impossible. But I did it. Well, we did it. Me and the girls.

Apparently, SuDoku literally means each digit occurs just once. I know now which digit I'd use just once on the next puzzle - the forefinger on my right hand. Up yours, Mr SuDoku!

If I had my way, every SuDoku puzzle would carry a sticker:

GOVERNMENT HEALTH WARNING
Sudoku can seriously damage your health.

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Reader's comments:
Amazon - Briman: "Having read and immensely enjoyed Dragons Dilemma by this author Sudoku Inheritance was a must read and certainly didn't disappoint,my being hopeless at cryptic clues and sudoku in no detracted from my enjoyment of this great fast moving novel with its interesting characters,plot and its twist in the tail ending. loved it,great read and looking forwards to the sequel."

Buy it now and solve the puzzle before Nathan & co.