Customer Reviews

Miss Zukas and the Library Murders

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

MISS ZUKAS AND THE LIBRARY MURDERS is the first in a series of mysteries featuring a librarian in the coastal area of Bellehaven, Washington. This book is copyrighted 1994, and the author has added about a book a year since then. A fun and fast-paced thriller with wonderful, fresh, multi-dimensional characters and delightful plot twists. Reads very quickly, making you want more! I just love Miss Zukas (her way of swearing is "Oh, Faulkner!"). This is going to be an enjoyable series! Fun, fun, fun!

This is an excellent series!! Not only is the murder investigation suspenseful, but there are also the underlying plots of Helma's relationship with Police Chief Wayne Gallant, and her relationship with Boy Cat Zukas (a stray which decides to adopt her). Also, her artist friend, Ruth, is really a "hoot"!! Just about the direct opposite of Helma. Besides the solving of each murder mystery in each book, Jo Dereske gives "just a nibble" regarding the relationships with the reading of each of the books in the series (5 at present) to "keep you hooked". I found that as soon as I finished the first one, I had to pick up the next and so on. I am anxious for the new one to appear!! They are very entertaining for someone looking for light and good mystery reading. And, "Out of Circulation" (the latest one out) was excellent!! Really kept you guessing right up to the end as to who the "bad guy" was.

I have been a librarian for 10 years. In that time, I have had many difficult customers. And I've filed thousands of catalog cards. So, it was quite interesting for me to read about how one particular librarian dealt with a difficult customer--with a catalog card drawer rod through the heart! This is the first in the Miss Zukas series of mysteries, and it comes highly recommended by librarians who are mystery fans. The characters are well devloped, the plot is well constructed, and Ms. Dereske's style is a real page turner. Get acquainted with Helma Zukas, librarian and sleuth, today

Miss Zukas is a hoot! The characters are delightful and quirky including Helma( not Helm, Please!). The plots are solid and keep the reader entertained. Helma Zukas is a refreshing sleuth in the light/cozy mystery genre in that she is cool and collected, organized and a bit too set in her ways, but with her zany friends and family members and co-workers who tolerate her staid existence well, the mayhem is all the more enjoyable.

I will miss this series when it ends.

Miss Zukas, intrepid librarian, is shocked and surprised to see police cars around Bellihaven's Public Library, her place of employment. A dead body has been discovered in the Mo-Ne aisle and no one knows who or why. The body is identified, but no motive can be established. Miss Zukas is an observant person, so she puts this ability to work and begins her own amateur investigation with her friend, Ruth. Jo Dereske weaves a gently amusing plot with interesting characters to create a "cozy" in a library setting. Mystery fans will enjoy this book.

The plot sort of tumbles out of the story rather than unfolds. Ms. Zukas is the sterotype of what people perceive librarians to be, she also seems to have some obsessive-compulsive traits. Ms. Zukas should have been the third victim, since the only compelling character in the story was Ruth.

Prim and librarianly, Miss Zukas, tries her hand at solving the murder that occurs in her library. Somehow it seems linked to the cryptic note left in a reference book and a library patron who seems to be following her. What does she know that might make her the next victim? She's not sure, but applies her librarian research skills and deductive reasoning to the problem.

Her bohemian friend, Ruth, is more a hinderance than a help and the police chief shows an interest in the sometimes prissy Miss Zukas that might be romantic rather than related to crime solving.

This is the first of a number of books with her as the main character and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of them.

As a retired librarian, I wondered if I should feel offended by the overly precise portrayal that taps into all the spinterish librarian stereotypes. As I read, I started to find her somewhat endearing. As her friend says to her, "sometimes you can turn obliqueness into an art form."

Miss Zukas is just as the title promises; a murder mystery that takes place in a library with Miss Zukas trying to solve it. What is wonderful about this story is how Miss Zukas is the a-typical librarian that everyone has always heard of. Prime, proper and very set in her ways. Once a murder is committed in her library Miss Zukas becomes involved without really knowing it. She and her best friend from childhood work together to solve the crime and in the middle get mixed up in more action then they bargained for. A quick and nice read.

Helma Zukas's "silver-dime" voice can quiet

the rowdiest child in the Bellhaven (Bellingham)

public library. Miss Zukas is captivating as

the slueth who solves library-related murders.

Jo Dereske writes with humor and obviously likes

her characters. You don't have to be a librarian
to enjoy this series! Anyone from Bellingham, WA
will recognize certain places even though the names
have been changed. I am certainly pleased to note
Dereske has a new Miss Zukas mystery coming out
this fall.

I found myself continually frustrated with the stupid actions of Miss Zukas, constantly putting herself in harm's way.