From Agatha Christie to a new generation of crime writers, cryptic crosswords have long held a place in murder-mystery fiction. Debut novelist and Guardian crossword setter Alys Cummings explains why the two make such natural companions

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A cryptic crossword and a murder mystery are each bound by an unspoken agreement between the creator and reader: I will give you enough information to solve this, but you must put the pieces together yourself.

So it’s no wonder that crime writers, from Agatha Christie to Dorothy L Sayers, and TV shows, from Inspector Morse to Inside No 9, have been drawn to the puzzles in their stories. The latest writer to enter the cruciverbalist crime arena is Alys Cummings, whose debut novel, Murder Most Cryptic, was published in October.

Upside-down cakes on the rack (8)

Record, EP and lyrics initially included in reissued album cover (8)

Here’s a tip: stick with your revised version (4,3,6)

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Jason Leon Watford said he ‘snapped’ after verbal dispute with the woman, before allegedly killing her in a cabin

A passenger of a Texas-based cruise ship has been charged with murdering a woman in their cabin on Sunday on the first day of their voyage.

Crew members aboard the MSC Seascape found the unidentified victim deceased and face down on the cabin floor, with Jason Leon Watford sitting in a corridor outside scrolling through his phone, according to an FBI affidavit that details the alleged crime.

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Rukmini Iyer’s Roasting Tin series celebrates the simplicity of one-pan cooking while her recipes for the Guardian suggest easy midweek meals and ways to save time in the kitchen by doubling your dinners. She’ll be answering your questions live from 1200 GMT on Wednesday 11 November.

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Rukmini Iyer writes the monthly Cook once, eat twice series for the Guardian Feast, suggesting simple, delicious ways to make your meals go further. In the Quick and easy column, she shared tasty recipes to make in less that 30 minutes for midweek suppers. She is the author of the hugely successful Roasting Tin cookbook series, which has sold over 1.75 million copies to date worldwide, offering fuss-free, nutritious and affordable one-dish dinners.

Rukmini will be here at 1200 GMT on Wednesday 11 November to answer your questions.

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German chancellor has signalled he will block budget with no aid deal, complaining that burden is ‘carried mostly by only a few member states’

Friedrich Merz has signalled he will block the EU’s seven-year budget unless there is a deal on financial aid for Ukraine, triggering accusations of “typical blackmail” from some other European leaders and setting the stage for stormy talks later this month.

The German chancellor’s intervention has angered leaders in central Europe who are net beneficiaries of EU funds but do not want to take part in an upcoming funding round to support Ukraine’s war effort.

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De rechterbuis van de Drechttunnel (A16) richting Rotterdam is dinsdag in de avondspits afgesloten. Dat komt door een kapotte vrachtwagen die olie achterliet op het wegdek. De vertraging liep rond 17:50 uur op tot ongeveer een uur.

De rechterbuis van de Drechttunnel (A16) richting Rotterdam is dinsdagavond afgesloten. Dat komt door een kapotte vrachtwagen die ook nog olie achterliet op het wegdek. De vertraging liep rond 17:50 uur op tot ongeveer een uur.

Op school zagen ze niks in hem, maar dit jaar viert Jandino Asporaat zijn twintigjarig jubileum als artiest. Het wordt drie dagen lang groot feest in Rotterdam Ahoy. "Het wordt weer een gekkenhuis, echt een bonte avond", vertelt hij.

lo-pi radio is "Live lo-fi beats from the digits of pi, forever." It generates endless music from the sequential digits of pi along with a random walk image based on those same digits. "Every note of the melody you hear is the next digit of pi, in order. Each digit is a note in the Fmaj scale. 0 and 9 are rests (silence)." Created for The Pudding [many previouslies]

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Better Than Americans Can? A short quiz on the percentage of Americans who do, own or are various things. Ranking is based on you vs. the rest of the US.

I did relatively terribly and I am still coming to terms with some hard truths. I was off by 15 points per group. This is better than the median American (off by 17) but worse than the median PerThirtySix user (off by 9)

Great title for an article about London’s invasive parakeet population: The Pollycrisis. “Do we want tens of thousands of Himalayan parrots squabbling all over our cities?”