Sunday, April 13, 2008

Out of Circulation (A Miss Zukas Mystery)

by Jo Dereske
Avon, 1997


This series starts with Miss Zukas and the Library Murders. As with all series books, it is advisable to read them chronologically.

A librarian by profession, I love to read fictional works with librarian protagonists. Sometimes I'm disappointed with the results, but Miss Zukas (Helma) is one of the happy exceptions - a hilarious send-up of the stereotype :)

In Out of Circulation, artist friend Ruth, persuades Helma to join her on a mountain hike to mark Ruth's upcoming 40th birthday. After doing her research and purchasing all the necessary equipment, Helma is prepared for any eventuality on the trail. Good thing - a dead body turns up on the first day. After the victim is removed from the scene, Helma and Ruth trek on to see if they can find and assist his missing partner. An unexpected snowstorm hits, they find a wounded and unconscious hiker, and take shelter in an emergency cabin. Four others share these close quarters. One of them is a murderer.

Kudos to author Jo Dereske for keeping me guessing right until the guilty party is revealed. A terrific read and a great addition to the series.

1 comment:

Diane Girard said...

I've read one of the books in this series and was going to recommend the series to you!

Now I must look for the one you reviewed.

Diane