Cut and Dry

I love Dereske's Zukas books and decided to read this while waiting for the next one. It took me a few tries to get into this one but I ended up liking it. Ruby Crane is a likable and believable character. Her life is hard; handicapped daughter, little money and trying to adjust to living in her hometown once more. On top of that, she's been asked to look into the murder of a friend. The mystery that unfolds is well told and can keep you guessing whodunit until the end. However, the confrontational scene seemed a little rushed and I didn't quite buy it. But the rest of the book was told well with a strong narrative voice. There was always something going on and the story seemed to pick up after the first few chatpers. There was a bit overtelling or explaining in some parts but that's par for the territory in these types of books. Read this if you want a nice cozy mystery and a likeable and strong protagonist. If there are any other Zukas fans out there - I noticed that Ruby's daughter, Jesse had some mannerisms that are similar to Miss Zuaks'; lining things up exactly, logical sequential, etc. Perhaps that type of personality was the prototype for Helma later.

This book was an entertaining and easy read. The characters were interesting, the story line moved right along. If you want a story that doesn't get involved in a lot of details, this is for you. The beauty shop is not the main focus, but is the local hairdresser that is killed. The handwriting analysis is an added feature if you want to know some tricks of that trade.