Customer Reviews

Final Notice: A Miss Zukas Mystery

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Helma Zukas' brother calls with the news that their Aunt Em has had an accident and is unable to care for herself for awhile. Helma steps in and volunteers to take time off from her job as a librarian to take care of her favorite aunt. As soon as Aunt Em arrives, strange things begin to happen, from stolen suitcases to the appearance of a dead body. Aunt Em seems to be at the center of the occurrences and Helma begins to suspect that her aunt's past is not quite as pristine as she had believed. She and her best friend Ruth begin to investigate the people who surround Aunt Em and finally discover a motive for the crimes which have been committed. Aunt Em is blissfully unaware of the stir that she is causing and proceeds to befriend several people in Bellehaven. She is a delightful character who would be an asset in future books. As always, this Miss Zukas Mystery, is a fun and enjoyable read.

Shame on you, if you're a school or public librarian and haven't yet devoured these Helma Zukas murder mysteries! The plots become even merrier with every fun-poking gibe at current librarianship. In "Final Notice," Helma's aunt takes center stage as she visits Bellehaven from her native Michigan. Murder and intrigue come with her, and it's up to Helma (as usual) to decipher who the culprit is before he/she can wreak more havoc. The running romantic sub-plot between the librarian and police chief Wayne Gallant is a continuing saga with subtle nuances that reflect real life experiences. These books can be enjoyed by ANY mystery lover, and not just those of us in the book-loaning trade.

Jo Dereske's Helma Zukas, librarian and amateur sleuth, is one of my favorite fictional characters. This series always keeps me laughing, both at Helma and and her friend Ruth's exploits, and at the shenanigans going on at Helma's library. This latest adventure is no exception, as Helma's elderly aunt gets involved in a murder. Ruth is her usual over-the-top self, and Helma has to suply the common sense for all of them. It will be interesting to see if the author works Helma's aunt into upcoming books. Highly recommended

I read this book cover to cover, putting the book down once! I just loved it. True, it may not be the Miss Zukas we have grown to know and love, but I found it very interesting to see a side of her that we haven't seen previously in her other books. Aunt Em was delightful and Ruth hilarious as ever! I can't wait for the next book!

I thought this book was book 3 in the series. Turns out it was book 7 (or there about). I've enjoyed the murder mysteries, even if they have been a little on the slow side. I'd say that this book was a much faster pace than the others but still too slow for me. Miss. Zukas is still struggling with her love life, her great Aunt needs help and comes to live with her and a murder happens out front of her apartment. All in all an okay read, but not something I would pass along to friends.

#6 Miss Zukas mystery set in fictional Bellehaven, WA. Helma has her elderly, somewhat eccentric Aunt Emily come to stay with her after she has a 'brain incident' and isn't able to stay alone just yet. Shortly after her arrival, a man is killed outside Helma's apartment, and Aunt Em is shocked to recognize him as the man who tried to steal her purse in the airport--she had poked him good with her hatpin, and he fled, but she's sure it's the same man.

Further investigation and Helma's looking into her aunt's checkered past leads her to believe that her aunt may well be in danger because of things that happened years ago. Enlisting the help of her 'friend,' police chief Wayne Gallant, Helma narrows down the search--although she's uneasy asking for Chief Gallant's help, as rumor has it that he is seeing his ex-wife again.

I really like Helma and do enjoy this series very much, and got a kick out of Aunt Em, who is about as polar opposite of Helma as you can get. And yet they 'work well' together. Interesting story, although the mystery wasn't too mysterious, and looking forward to the next one.

I enjoy the mystery part of these books.

I've just been re-reading them after a number of years, however, and I don't know whether it was this book in particular or a buildup from all the books together, but I am finding some of the characters so annoying that they are ruining my enjoyment of the mysteries.

Miss Zukas' "friend," Ruth, is an irritating, domineering hypocrite. She's allegedly a "free spirit" artistic type who just wants to live life her own way. What she actually does is assume that hers is the only way to live and that her friend Helma must do just as she would, and if she doesn't want to then Ruth will try to make her. Helma doesn't like having the cat come into the apartment farther than the living room? Well, Ruth will just bring it in farther and feed it in the kitchen. Helma is reserved and doesn't propose to "fight" for the divorced police chief whose ex-wife is back in town? Well, Ruth will just meddle and nag and ask questions about things that are none of her business and tell Helma to do things that she doesn't want to, and say things about Helma's personal business in front of others.

Helma's mother isn't any better - a meddlesome, gossiping busybody.

And Miss Zukas, if she had a backbone, would tell these two and others to back off and mind their own business and leave her to manage her life in the way she chooses, instead of just feebly giving in and doing what they want and allowing them to manipulate her, over and over and over again.

I gave this three stars - the mystery itself is probably worth four, maybe five, but the characters drag it down.

I'm only halfway through Final Notice but I have to take a break: I've been laughing so hard I'm exhausted. All the previous Miss Zukas books have had their humorous moments, but none so far has caused me to laugh aloud so repeatedly. The combination of Helma's friend Ruth Winthrop, always good for a chuckle, and Helma's visiting Aunt Em is absolutely marvelous. Jo Dereske's authorial skills, excellent right from the first book in the series, just get better and better.

There's no need for me to recap the plot -- other reviewers have done that -- but I would like to say something about the people who are put off by Miss Helma Zukas and company: cozy mysteries are not reality shows. Those of us who read them accept the conventions of the cozy in return for the guarantee of no gratuitous sex or violence. Please note: the operative word is gratuitous. Scenes of sexual encounter and/or violence are acceptable if they are part of the plot. If cozy readers wanted so-called reality, which seems nowadays to mean an excuse for showing the worst human behaviors, they need only to switch on their television sets. Perhaps Miss Zukas's detractors would do amazon readers a service if they would detail why they find these books unsatisfying.

For those who have not yet encountered Helma Zukas, start with the first book in the series and ease gently into this cozy world. Take Miss Zukas as you find her -- and I find her deadpan and dryly witty. As for Ruth and Aunt Em -- they're not dry, they're hilarious.

I wish I had discovered the Miss Zukas series years ago. I found most of the characters amusing and yet identifiable (although they do seem to run across an inordinate number of dead bodies!). I'm looking forward to many more books to come in the series.

Helma Zukas is a finely tuned character who represents Librarians well. Dereske is a good writer; all of her books are enjoyable. I would like Dereske to write a fine long mystery - to test herself against James and George.