Miss Zukas in Death's Shadow

Helma Zukas is given a ticket for running a red light, but she refuses to pay the fine, feeling that the ticket is unjustified. In lieu of paying the fine, Helma works at a mission for homeless men, dishing up food and doing other chores. During one of her volunteer nights, an influential businessman is found dead near the mission on his way in to a meeting to consider a grant proposal. He is also on the library board and has disagreed with Helma on policy in the past, thus placing her on a list of suspects. Helma discovers that there are lots of people with an ax to grind against the victim and she begins to sort through the clues and suspects in order to find the murderer. As always, her artistic friend Ruth serves as a comic foil for the straight-laced Miss Zukas and the road to a solution is an entertaining one.

Wilhelmina Zukas, reference librarian for the Bellehaven (Wash.) Public Library, finds herself doing community service at a mission for homeless men. When a library board member is murdered outside the mission, Miss Zukas is quick (once again) to help police in their investigation ... while a prior public disagreement with the victim places her in criminal suspicion as well. If you've read any of the other titles in this series, you'll enjoy following the continuing sagas of: the weather in Bellehaven; the bizarre antics of Ruth, Helma's artist friend; and the glowing embers of the quasi-platonic relationship with Wayne Gallant, the city police chief. And those of us in the library profession can easily identify with many of the quirks of the library staff and patrons. "Miss Zukas in Death's Shadow" is a quick and delightful read, and you might not figure out who the murderer is until just before Miss Zukas does!

This was a great addition to the series.Miss Zukas is embroiled in audits, relationship difficulties, (more than one man is involved, that's all I'll say,) the homeless, and the fending off her mother, aunt, and New Age boss. This is a great combination of social commentary and mystery. The right to privacy is a big, big, issue in this book, and it is weaved within a very exciting mystery. Support the ALA!---(American Library Association.)

Not much has changed for good ole' Helma! I enjoyed the plot and, as usual, the characters, but it doesn't seem like there was much different from Ms. Dereske's other novels with Ms. Zukas. Gotta love Ruth!