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Dead-End Job Mystery #14
Checked Out
PI Helen Hawthorne goes undercover at a local library to find a painting and solve a murder in the national bestselling mystery series.
Wealthy socialite Elizabeth Cateman Kingsley has hired Helen to find a missing John Singer Sargent painting, owned by her late father. After his death, many of Davis Kingsley’s books were donated to the Flora Park Library, and his daughter suspects the small watercolor—worth a million dollars—was tucked away inside one of those dusty tomes.
To search the stacks, Helen applies for a job as a library volunteer and discovers the library has a catalog of complaints—from a mischievous calico cat to the mysterious disappearance of various items that some of the staff are attributing to a ghost. Things only get worse when a dead body turns up in a parking lot. Now Helen is bound and determined to find the killer as well as the painting—before she’s taken out of circulation herself.
Wealthy socialite Elizabeth Cateman Kingsley has hired Helen to find a missing John Singer Sargent painting, owned by her late father. After his death, many of Davis Kingsley’s books were donated to the Flora Park Library, and his daughter suspects the small watercolor—worth a million dollars—was tucked away inside one of those dusty tomes.
To search the stacks, Helen applies for a job as a library volunteer and discovers the library has a catalog of complaints—from a mischievous calico cat to the mysterious disappearance of various items that some of the staff are attributing to a ghost. Things only get worse when a dead body turns up in a parking lot. Now Helen is bound and determined to find the killer as well as the painting—before she’s taken out of circulation herself.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 5, 2015
37 people are currently reading
594 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Viets
82 books569 followersAs a young girl, Elaine Viets was taught the virtues of South St. Louis: the importance of hard work, housecleaning, and paying cash. She managed to forget almost everything she learned, which is why she turned to mystery writing.
Living in South Florida has not improved her character. But it has given her the bestselling Dead-End Job series. Like her amateur detective, Helen Hawthorne, Elaine actually works those rotten jobs. Perhaps her early training has given her a lifelong fascination with jobs. She and Helen both know working for a living can be murder.
To research her novels, Elaine has been everything from a salesclerk to a survey taker. Her first book in the series is SHOP TILL YOU DROP, a novel of sex, murder and plastic surgery. It's set at a fashionable dress shop that caters to kept women. Book two, MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, takes place at a bookstore. Elaine worked at a Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida, for a year.
For the third, DYING TO CALL YOU, Helen works as a telemarketer. Elaine sold septic tank cleaner and did telephone surveys. She actually asked women if they shaved their armpits. In the fourth Dead-End Job mystery, JUST MURDERED, Elaine and Helen explore big-money matrimony for better or worse. Elaine did her research in Zola Keller’s posh bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale.
For the fifth novel, Elaine and Helen go to the dogs. MURDER UNLEASHED is set at a high-end dog boutique, where people spend two hundred dollars for canine cuisine, women sneak illegal pets into condos using high-priced designer purses, and the dogs at the store have bigger wardrobes than the salesclerks. MURDER UNLEASHED is Elaine's first hardcover mystery. Publishers Weekly calls it “wry social commentary.”
Although Elaine lives in Fort Lauderdale, her heart – and her viewpoint – remain in the Midwest. Like Helen Hawthorne, another transplanted St. Louisan, she observes the outrageously rich Florida culture (and lack thereof) with wide-eyed fascination.
Elaine’s second series takes her back to work in St. Louis. It features Josie Marcus, a mystery shopper and single mom. The debut novel, DYING IN STYLE, tied with Stephen King on the bestseller list for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Elaine won both the Agatha and the Anthony Awards for her short story, "Wedding Knife," in CHESAPEAKE CRIMES.
Some honors don’t come with plaques and award banquets. Elaine was thrilled when her short story, "After the Fall," was featured on the same cover of the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as the master, Ed Hoch.
Her short story, "Red Meat," is in BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS, the Mystery Writers of America anthology edited by Lawrence Block. "Blonde Moment" is in the MWA anthology, SHOW BUSINESS IS MURDER, edited by Stuart Kaminsky. "Sex and Bingo" is featured in the HIGH STAKES gambling anthology. And if you've ever wondered about the early life of purple-loving landlady Margery Flax, read "Killer Blonde" in DROP-DEAD BLONDE.
Elaine has served on the national boards of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband, actor Don Crinklaw, where they collect speeding tickets.
Please buy her novels so she can pay her MasterCard.
Series:
* Dead-End Job Mystery
* Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper
* Francesca Vierling Mystery
Living in South Florida has not improved her character. But it has given her the bestselling Dead-End Job series. Like her amateur detective, Helen Hawthorne, Elaine actually works those rotten jobs. Perhaps her early training has given her a lifelong fascination with jobs. She and Helen both know working for a living can be murder.
To research her novels, Elaine has been everything from a salesclerk to a survey taker. Her first book in the series is SHOP TILL YOU DROP, a novel of sex, murder and plastic surgery. It's set at a fashionable dress shop that caters to kept women. Book two, MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, takes place at a bookstore. Elaine worked at a Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida, for a year.
For the third, DYING TO CALL YOU, Helen works as a telemarketer. Elaine sold septic tank cleaner and did telephone surveys. She actually asked women if they shaved their armpits. In the fourth Dead-End Job mystery, JUST MURDERED, Elaine and Helen explore big-money matrimony for better or worse. Elaine did her research in Zola Keller’s posh bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale.
For the fifth novel, Elaine and Helen go to the dogs. MURDER UNLEASHED is set at a high-end dog boutique, where people spend two hundred dollars for canine cuisine, women sneak illegal pets into condos using high-priced designer purses, and the dogs at the store have bigger wardrobes than the salesclerks. MURDER UNLEASHED is Elaine's first hardcover mystery. Publishers Weekly calls it “wry social commentary.”
Although Elaine lives in Fort Lauderdale, her heart – and her viewpoint – remain in the Midwest. Like Helen Hawthorne, another transplanted St. Louisan, she observes the outrageously rich Florida culture (and lack thereof) with wide-eyed fascination.
Elaine’s second series takes her back to work in St. Louis. It features Josie Marcus, a mystery shopper and single mom. The debut novel, DYING IN STYLE, tied with Stephen King on the bestseller list for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Elaine won both the Agatha and the Anthony Awards for her short story, "Wedding Knife," in CHESAPEAKE CRIMES.
Some honors don’t come with plaques and award banquets. Elaine was thrilled when her short story, "After the Fall," was featured on the same cover of the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as the master, Ed Hoch.
Her short story, "Red Meat," is in BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS, the Mystery Writers of America anthology edited by Lawrence Block. "Blonde Moment" is in the MWA anthology, SHOW BUSINESS IS MURDER, edited by Stuart Kaminsky. "Sex and Bingo" is featured in the HIGH STAKES gambling anthology. And if you've ever wondered about the early life of purple-loving landlady Margery Flax, read "Killer Blonde" in DROP-DEAD BLONDE.
Elaine has served on the national boards of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband, actor Don Crinklaw, where they collect speeding tickets.
Please buy her novels so she can pay her MasterCard.
Series:
* Dead-End Job Mystery
* Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper
* Francesca Vierling Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
January 6, 2016
I can see this being enjoyable for a certain type of person, of which I am not one.
June 26, 2019
A valuable painting is missing, and Helen Hancock is hired to find it. Of course, there's a murder.
The sleuth just bugged me.
The sleuth just bugged me.
August 22, 2015
I've been reading Elaine Viets since she wrote a column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and lived around the corner from me. I've read many of the Dead-End Job mysteries, and watched Helen, the main character, grow and evolve.
So it is hard for me to say I'm getting tired of these books. Helen is still doing menial work, but as a cover for her PI business. She still makes the same mistakes, jumps to the same conclusions, but now she can call on her husband to bail her out of trouble. It's just not as interesting as before.
That being said, I really like the research Viets does into the jobs Helen does. My wife works at a library, and the different types of librarians and staffers, the processes and procedures, and issues with the homeless all ring true. And it's obvious that Viets has a strong affinity for the people that do all the jobs that show up in her books.
The mystery part just didn't cut it for me, though. Too many cars involved in accidents on the same day and a too-obvious side case about thefts from rich people soured the story for me.
So it is hard for me to say I'm getting tired of these books. Helen is still doing menial work, but as a cover for her PI business. She still makes the same mistakes, jumps to the same conclusions, but now she can call on her husband to bail her out of trouble. It's just not as interesting as before.
That being said, I really like the research Viets does into the jobs Helen does. My wife works at a library, and the different types of librarians and staffers, the processes and procedures, and issues with the homeless all ring true. And it's obvious that Viets has a strong affinity for the people that do all the jobs that show up in her books.
The mystery part just didn't cut it for me, though. Too many cars involved in accidents on the same day and a too-obvious side case about thefts from rich people soured the story for me.
February 26, 2018
June 9, 2015: to say, I love the series "Dead-End Job" since I have read all the books in it, own some of the books, and have had the author sign a couple of my books. :-D
Since I have read all the books, I have followed the characters throughout the series and I just love these cozy mysteries.
One of the main characters, Helen Hawthorne, reminds me of me in many ways so I enjoy reading the adventures she goes through. This book had two mini-mysteries in the story so that made it more fun to read. The ending was great and can't wait for the next book. :)
Read again on January 2018. Loved it again!
Since I have read all the books, I have followed the characters throughout the series and I just love these cozy mysteries.
One of the main characters, Helen Hawthorne, reminds me of me in many ways so I enjoy reading the adventures she goes through. This book had two mini-mysteries in the story so that made it more fun to read. The ending was great and can't wait for the next book. :)
Read again on January 2018. Loved it again!
December 17, 2015
Curling up with a book by Elaine Viets is like visiting old friends. The Dead End Job series is fantastic, I love the ongoing story of Helen and Phil, their life at the Coronado Apartments and all their wonderful friends.
In this particular book, Helen is undercover at a posh library. As she searches for a missing piece of art she encounters all the quirky employees and helps to find the mysterious ghost. While Helen enjoys her new position as volunteer, Phil is working his own investigation, searching for a missing golf cart and a ruby and diamond necklace.
The husband and wife PI team leave no stone unturned in this thrilling book.
I can't wait to read the next one.
In this particular book, Helen is undercover at a posh library. As she searches for a missing piece of art she encounters all the quirky employees and helps to find the mysterious ghost. While Helen enjoys her new position as volunteer, Phil is working his own investigation, searching for a missing golf cart and a ruby and diamond necklace.
The husband and wife PI team leave no stone unturned in this thrilling book.
I can't wait to read the next one.
September 14, 2015
Helen and her husband, Phil, are private detectives who are hired to locate a stolen painting and a missing necklace. Helen volunteers at the local library to help her solve one case while her Phil works as a gardener to gather information for the stolen necklace. The plot moves quickly and the characters are fun and a bit quirky. Sprinkle in some humor and the reader will have a delightful read.
June 13, 2015
The setting at the library had me jealous. The library seemed so quaint, I wished that one like this one was close to me. I thought the library was filled with characters and I didn't want to suspect one of them, so I was glad when most of them were ok. The other case that Phil and Helen were working on was obvious, I was glad that the person was caught and punished.
July 19, 2022
I'm not usually a fan of 'cozies', but this one stuck with me all the way to the end. Perhaps it was the library setting but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Helen is a good protagonist with enough foibles to keep her believable and not some Mary Sue Holmes that so many authors seem to want to write now. Her support network is a believable bunch, but does not interfere with her own abilities.
I only had one negative thought in the entire book ' "Enough with the white cars already!"
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!
I only had one negative thought in the entire book ' "Enough with the white cars already!"
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!
April 9, 2017
I really enjoyed Checked Out by Elaine Viets. It was a fast-paced, fun read. I did not figure out "whodunit" before the finale, although I had narrowed down the suspect pool, considerably. The reveal did not surprise me, though (the bad guys are thoroughly despicable and one is definitely a bit off her rocker). I liked the fact that Lisa had a somewhat "happy" ending (or at least a chance at a new beginning)!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2025
entertaining as ever
Viets' dead end job series is a pleasure to read. A literate tour of so many jobs in the pits of Florida.
Viets' dead end job series is a pleasure to read. A literate tour of so many jobs in the pits of Florida.
June 5, 2016
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Checked Out
A Dead-End Job Mystery #14
Author: Elaine Viets
ISBN13: 9780451466327
Author website: http://www.elaineviets.com/pages/bio.asp
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kayt
Synopsis: Checked Out
Shhh…in the newest hardcover in the national bestselling Dead-End Job Mystery series, Helen Hawthorne quietly goes undercover at a local library to search for a missing masterpiece.
Wealthy socialite Elizabeth Cateman Kingsley has hired Helen to find a missing John Singer Sargent painting, owned by her late father. After his death, many of Davis Cateman’s books were donated to the Flora Park library, and his daughter suspects the small watercolor—worth millions—was tucked away inside one of those dusty tomes.
To search the stacks, Helen applies for a position as a library volunteer and discovers the library director has a catalog of complaints—from a mischievous calico cat named Paris to the mysterious disappearance of various items that some of the more imaginative staff are attributing to a ghost haunting the building.
While her husband Phil sticks his neck out to find a missing necklace, Helen is on her own with no one to lend her a hand. When a dead body turns up in a parking lot, it appears someone is willing to go to any lengths to keep the treasure in the library quiet. Now Helen is bound and determined to find the killer as well as the painting—before she’s taken out of circulation herself.
Review:
Checked Out is a fun, fast paced whodunit that kept me guessing right till the end. I loved PI husband and wife team Helen and Phil. They worked well together and apart. The library setting was entertaining and informative. Helen is hired to find a million dollar watercolor that is believed to be squirrelled away in one of the thousands of books donated to the Flora Park Library. When Helen is at the library she picks up another job to find the “ghost” that is causing problems there. At the same time the pair have been hired to find a stolen necklace. All of the suspects are from the same pool of characters. Rich, spoiled members of first families of Flora Par or library workers or volunteers.
I loved the relationship Helen and Phil had as a couple and as PI’s. They are wonderful, well developed characters. The staff and volunteers at the library were entertaining. Alexis was a great character and librarian and Gayle was the perfect anti librarian. The snarky Friends of the Library ladies were great to hate. Jared, the ‘should be’ retired janitor, was a perfect side character. The setting was enjoyable and who would not love Paris, the calico library cat. The story was wonderful. Investigating three different cases held the book together and kept the pacing fast and action packed.
I really enjoyed author Elaine Viets’ writing style. Humor, mystery, fun, action and a well written story jam packed this cozy read. I giggled at times and was enthralled at others. A truly fun book. The suspects for each case were different. While the murder mystery was hard to figure out, the other cases were a bit easier. Yet there was still the fun and action of getting the proof and answers.
I had not read “A Dead-End Job Mystery” series in its entirety nor in any order, however I truly enjoyed Checked Out and had no trouble following it and getting involved with the characters. I think this can be read as a standalone, but I adore the characters and have found a new series to add to my TBR list. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s writing style and character conversation. I would love to hang out with Helen, Phil and the gang. Checked Out ticks all the boxes for a great read. I am on to the next one in the series and cannot wait to see what trouble this intelligent and fun pair and their friends find themselves in next.
*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*
Checked Out
A Dead-End Job Mystery #14
Author: Elaine Viets
ISBN13: 9780451466327
Author website: http://www.elaineviets.com/pages/bio.asp
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kayt
Synopsis: Checked Out
Shhh…in the newest hardcover in the national bestselling Dead-End Job Mystery series, Helen Hawthorne quietly goes undercover at a local library to search for a missing masterpiece.
Wealthy socialite Elizabeth Cateman Kingsley has hired Helen to find a missing John Singer Sargent painting, owned by her late father. After his death, many of Davis Cateman’s books were donated to the Flora Park library, and his daughter suspects the small watercolor—worth millions—was tucked away inside one of those dusty tomes.
To search the stacks, Helen applies for a position as a library volunteer and discovers the library director has a catalog of complaints—from a mischievous calico cat named Paris to the mysterious disappearance of various items that some of the more imaginative staff are attributing to a ghost haunting the building.
While her husband Phil sticks his neck out to find a missing necklace, Helen is on her own with no one to lend her a hand. When a dead body turns up in a parking lot, it appears someone is willing to go to any lengths to keep the treasure in the library quiet. Now Helen is bound and determined to find the killer as well as the painting—before she’s taken out of circulation herself.
Review:
Checked Out is a fun, fast paced whodunit that kept me guessing right till the end. I loved PI husband and wife team Helen and Phil. They worked well together and apart. The library setting was entertaining and informative. Helen is hired to find a million dollar watercolor that is believed to be squirrelled away in one of the thousands of books donated to the Flora Park Library. When Helen is at the library she picks up another job to find the “ghost” that is causing problems there. At the same time the pair have been hired to find a stolen necklace. All of the suspects are from the same pool of characters. Rich, spoiled members of first families of Flora Par or library workers or volunteers.
I loved the relationship Helen and Phil had as a couple and as PI’s. They are wonderful, well developed characters. The staff and volunteers at the library were entertaining. Alexis was a great character and librarian and Gayle was the perfect anti librarian. The snarky Friends of the Library ladies were great to hate. Jared, the ‘should be’ retired janitor, was a perfect side character. The setting was enjoyable and who would not love Paris, the calico library cat. The story was wonderful. Investigating three different cases held the book together and kept the pacing fast and action packed.
I really enjoyed author Elaine Viets’ writing style. Humor, mystery, fun, action and a well written story jam packed this cozy read. I giggled at times and was enthralled at others. A truly fun book. The suspects for each case were different. While the murder mystery was hard to figure out, the other cases were a bit easier. Yet there was still the fun and action of getting the proof and answers.
I had not read “A Dead-End Job Mystery” series in its entirety nor in any order, however I truly enjoyed Checked Out and had no trouble following it and getting involved with the characters. I think this can be read as a standalone, but I adore the characters and have found a new series to add to my TBR list. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s writing style and character conversation. I would love to hang out with Helen, Phil and the gang. Checked Out ticks all the boxes for a great read. I am on to the next one in the series and cannot wait to see what trouble this intelligent and fun pair and their friends find themselves in next.
*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*
May 10, 2015
I love this series. I've been following Helen Hawthorne's adventures since she first appeared in 2003 in Shop Til You Drop. The settings are always fun and well researched, and the characters - Phil, Margery, Peggy, and Pete the Parrot, along with numerous less permanent visitors, continue to hold my interest.
In Checked Out, Helen goes undercover as a volunteer at a small, upscale library, searching for a John Singer Sargent water color ("Muddy Alligators," signed on the back by Clark Gable, who lost it in a poker game in 1924) accidentally left in a donated book--somewhere in 300 boxes of books. And there appears to be a ghost, or at least a squatter, hiding in the library. Meanwhile, Phil is courting sunburn as an undercover gardener, Peggy is worried about Pete's personal life, and the new tenant at the Coronado Tropic Apartments is showing off his mojitos.
If you enjoy humorous mystery, you can't do better than Elaine Viets.
In Checked Out, Helen goes undercover as a volunteer at a small, upscale library, searching for a John Singer Sargent water color ("Muddy Alligators," signed on the back by Clark Gable, who lost it in a poker game in 1924) accidentally left in a donated book--somewhere in 300 boxes of books. And there appears to be a ghost, or at least a squatter, hiding in the library. Meanwhile, Phil is courting sunburn as an undercover gardener, Peggy is worried about Pete's personal life, and the new tenant at the Coronado Tropic Apartments is showing off his mojitos.
If you enjoy humorous mystery, you can't do better than Elaine Viets.
May 5, 2015
For as much as I liked CATNAPPED, book 13 in the Dead-End Jobs Mysteries, I liked CHECKED OUT twice as much!
Husband and wife PI team Phil and Helen, are working on separate cases in this installment. Phil is searching for a missing necklace while Helen goes undercover as a librarian to find a missing water color, donated by mistake in a book to the library.
Author Elaine Viets has a wonderful writing style that flows so smoothly. She really knows how to draw the reader into her stories. Her mysteries are first rate and the humor she adds to her characters and situations only adds to the enjoyment of the books.
With suspects not being in short supply, I kept changing my mind over who the villain was. I’m proud to say I can sometimes guess who the “baddy” is, but I wasn’t even close with CHECKED OUT.
If you haven’t read any of the Dead-End Jobs Mysteries, I would suggest you check out CHECKED OUT. It will have you adding the rest of this series to your TBR shelves
Husband and wife PI team Phil and Helen, are working on separate cases in this installment. Phil is searching for a missing necklace while Helen goes undercover as a librarian to find a missing water color, donated by mistake in a book to the library.
Author Elaine Viets has a wonderful writing style that flows so smoothly. She really knows how to draw the reader into her stories. Her mysteries are first rate and the humor she adds to her characters and situations only adds to the enjoyment of the books.
With suspects not being in short supply, I kept changing my mind over who the villain was. I’m proud to say I can sometimes guess who the “baddy” is, but I wasn’t even close with CHECKED OUT.
If you haven’t read any of the Dead-End Jobs Mysteries, I would suggest you check out CHECKED OUT. It will have you adding the rest of this series to your TBR shelves
June 25, 2015
Checked Out by Elaine Viets.
The Flora Park Library is in financial trouble. The floors are giving way to the immense pressure from all the books. something has to be done or the library itself will have to be abandoned and a new building erected. There is a way out of this dilemma. Fine the missing John Singer Sargent watercolors hidden in a book somewhere in the library.
Elizabeth Cateman Kingsley asks Helen to find that watercolor worth at least one million dollars. That money could save the library.
I enjoyed this light hearted cozy in the dead end series. but not as much as the first few in this series. The hilarity of Margery the colorful landlady of Helen's & Phil's Apartment was far in the background. I missed her.
The Flora Park Library is in financial trouble. The floors are giving way to the immense pressure from all the books. something has to be done or the library itself will have to be abandoned and a new building erected. There is a way out of this dilemma. Fine the missing John Singer Sargent watercolors hidden in a book somewhere in the library.
Elizabeth Cateman Kingsley asks Helen to find that watercolor worth at least one million dollars. That money could save the library.
I enjoyed this light hearted cozy in the dead end series. but not as much as the first few in this series. The hilarity of Margery the colorful landlady of Helen's & Phil's Apartment was far in the background. I missed her.
June 18, 2015
Elaine Viets is my favorite "cozy" author, along with Carolyn Hart of the Death on Demand series. I eagerly await any new publications, and their series never fail to please. Typically, Checked Out was a delightful plot filled with well-developed characters that I enjoy catching up with through the newest installment. It didn't hurt that this mystery was set in a library that had a personality all of its own. Ms. Viets can do no wrong, while transporting her readers to a return trip to visit old friends.
May 2, 2016
Ms Viets dead end job mysteries are always a fun and interesting read!
August 9, 2018
I really enjoy Elaine's style of writing. The story flows from scene to scene.
January 11, 2021
I have been a fan of the Dead-End Job Mystery series by Elaine Viets since reading the first book, Shop Till You Drop, and every time I read the next book I fall in love a little deeper. And I think I am going to have to go on record and say that Checked Out, the fourteenth book is my favorite !! I have probably said that with previous books but I cannot help but change my mind with the next book in the series.
As the books grow in number the characters grow and develop more and more and the storyline just keeps getting better and better. In the early books main character Helen had to take dead-end cash paying jobs so that she stayed under the radar since she divorced her cheating husband and vowed that he would never receive another penny from her as was awarded him during their divorce proceedings. So she ran away and ended up in Florida.....
Living in Florida she was forced to take these dead-end jobs to pay her bills but she always got caught up in murder cases....then she got to know her next door neighbor Phil at her apartment complex, they fell in love, got married and opened up their own private investigation agency. They also LOVE their apartment manager, Margery, most of the other tenants and have a lot of fun !!
In Checked Out both Helen and Phil have cases that they are working on. Phil is going undercover as a gardener for a wealthy couple who had a birthday party for their daughter turning 21. They gave her a very expensive necklace then left the house so she could party for a bunch of friends. The next morning the necklace and family golf cart were missing. So Phil was hired to find out what happened to both...the owners think that someone on the staff did it. Helen is hired by another wealthy individual whose father had donated his massive library collection to the town library. But he was known to place important paperwork inside the books and a valuable painting that was willed to the daughter is missing and feared was placed inside a book. So Helen is going overcover at the library as a volunteer so that she can go through the boxes of books.
Helen's case becomes more difficult when she finds a homeless woman living in the library who claims she found the painting and has hid it for safekeeping until she returns from a job interview but gets run down in the parking lot at the business she was to be interviewed at. Now Helen not only has to search the library looking for the painting but she has to find a killer !!!
There is so much going on to keep readers attention in this book as well as the whole series. Readers will love the way that Helen grows throughout the books. And readers cannot help but enjoy the relationships, especially between Helen and Phil. Also the friendships with Margery and Peggy are so fun to read about as well.
I highly recommend getting into this series and cannot wait to open up the fifteenth and final book in this series, The Art of Murder.
As the books grow in number the characters grow and develop more and more and the storyline just keeps getting better and better. In the early books main character Helen had to take dead-end cash paying jobs so that she stayed under the radar since she divorced her cheating husband and vowed that he would never receive another penny from her as was awarded him during their divorce proceedings. So she ran away and ended up in Florida.....
Living in Florida she was forced to take these dead-end jobs to pay her bills but she always got caught up in murder cases....then she got to know her next door neighbor Phil at her apartment complex, they fell in love, got married and opened up their own private investigation agency. They also LOVE their apartment manager, Margery, most of the other tenants and have a lot of fun !!
In Checked Out both Helen and Phil have cases that they are working on. Phil is going undercover as a gardener for a wealthy couple who had a birthday party for their daughter turning 21. They gave her a very expensive necklace then left the house so she could party for a bunch of friends. The next morning the necklace and family golf cart were missing. So Phil was hired to find out what happened to both...the owners think that someone on the staff did it. Helen is hired by another wealthy individual whose father had donated his massive library collection to the town library. But he was known to place important paperwork inside the books and a valuable painting that was willed to the daughter is missing and feared was placed inside a book. So Helen is going overcover at the library as a volunteer so that she can go through the boxes of books.
Helen's case becomes more difficult when she finds a homeless woman living in the library who claims she found the painting and has hid it for safekeeping until she returns from a job interview but gets run down in the parking lot at the business she was to be interviewed at. Now Helen not only has to search the library looking for the painting but she has to find a killer !!!
There is so much going on to keep readers attention in this book as well as the whole series. Readers will love the way that Helen grows throughout the books. And readers cannot help but enjoy the relationships, especially between Helen and Phil. Also the friendships with Margery and Peggy are so fun to read about as well.
I highly recommend getting into this series and cannot wait to open up the fifteenth and final book in this series, The Art of Murder.
June 28, 2017
This entry in the Dead-End Job series was especially fun, for me at least. Helen and her PI husband Phil are working three different cases here. Helen is undercover at the Flora Park Library while she looks for a million dollar watercolor stashed in a book and also for a "ghost" haunting the library. Phil is chasing down leads in a case of theft: a $20K diamond and ruby pendant necklace was stolen from a debutante's 21st birthday party and somebody stole her daddy's custom golf cart as well. While Phil is undercover as a gardener watching the victim's staff, Helen is locked away in the basement of the library searching through more than three thousand donated books. She quickly solves the "ghost" part of the mystery by finding a homeless woman living in the library at night. No sooner has she done so, however, than the homeless woman is killed in a hit-and-run. Why? And where is the watercolor? Is someone at the library responsible? They all seem to have motive to covet the $1 million artwork, but would they really kill for the money? The usual silly characters, sunset cocktail hours, parrots, personalities and perils ensue. As usual, a satisfying ending wraps up the fates of many characters.
June 7, 2018
Never heard of this series but enjoyed this book! Pretty quick, entertaining read. I’d definitely read more of these in the future. I didn’t realize it was #14 in the series. I don’t usually like to read that far into a series as my first book, but it was on my shelf so I decided to check it out.
7.5 out of 10 overall and 4.5 of 5 for readability. Enjoyable read and interesting characters. I also really like the way the author wrapped up the story at the end. It seems like this is a book where other than the two main characters, there will be a lot of new characters in each story, so I was glad for the wrap up of what happens to everyone in the future.
-Holly
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7.5 out of 10 overall and 4.5 of 5 for readability. Enjoyable read and interesting characters. I also really like the way the author wrapped up the story at the end. It seems like this is a book where other than the two main characters, there will be a lot of new characters in each story, so I was glad for the wrap up of what happens to everyone in the future.
-Holly
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October 14, 2018
Cute, breezy book, very much of the "cozy mystery" genre, which I don't usually read.
A private detective goes under cover as a library volunteer to find a valuable painting. The case becomes a murder mystery, and everyone---staff, Friends of the Library, Board members---are suspects.
I liked the Ft. Lauderdale setting and the idea of a mansion converted into a unique public library. (I kept picturing the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library in New Orleans, but there are probably others like it across the southern states.) The writing is so simple, with much repetition of facts, that reading and following the plot can be done with half an attention span.
A private detective goes under cover as a library volunteer to find a valuable painting. The case becomes a murder mystery, and everyone---staff, Friends of the Library, Board members---are suspects.
I liked the Ft. Lauderdale setting and the idea of a mansion converted into a unique public library. (I kept picturing the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library in New Orleans, but there are probably others like it across the southern states.) The writing is so simple, with much repetition of facts, that reading and following the plot can be done with half an attention span.
July 6, 2020
Now that Helen and Phil now have their own PI firm, I expected her to be a bit more savvy in a few circumstances, but, even after all these delightful dead-end series books, I had to remind myself she is a novice at being a professional sleuth. The white car thing seemed a bit over-the-top for coincidences, though I hear that in FL, it might not be, but in the end, helped to make for a harder mystery to solve. I've always enjoyed this cast of characters and look forward to another sunset salute with them.
September 13, 2024
3.5 rounded to 4 stars - My second book in the A Dead-End Job Mystery series, which has newly married PIs Helen and Phil each pursuing a case. Phil is trying to find where a diamond and ruby necklace given by a father to his daughter on her 21st birthday has gone, along with their fancy golf cart. Helen is tasked with a library job, with includes solving the mystery of the ghost (a homeless woman hiding in the library), finding a painting that was stuck in a donation book, and solving a murder. An enjoyable book, all in all.
July 3, 2017
The Dead-End Job series had seemingly lost its zing, but it seems to be improving with this book. I hope that it keeps going uphill again. To be honest, I liked Helen Hawthorne more as an unhappy woman on the run than I do as a moderately successful PI with an ecstatically happy marriage. The library setting was convincing and fun, and as usual, there were minor characters I would like to see more of.
July 22, 2019
Good characters and plot. Private Investigator goes undercover as a library volunteer to find a book donated in error that contains an expensive print. Set in a wealthier locale, the volunteer spots are a sign of prestige and highly coveted, so this PI who steps up and takes the next opening is also fighting off jealous women as well as looking for a "ghost" in the library. That combined with sorting through the donated books keeps her busy with more than one mystery!
December 18, 2019
Overall relaxing book, I can see what kind of audience this book might be targeted to but the ending seemed too obvious for me. It also dragged on but I liked the reality of it all and the trial and error that made the characters seem real. Was surprised to find it in the adult section as it seems like something a middle schooler could enjoy minus the language. Mystery has never been my favorite but it was not a completely bad read..just wasn’t for me.
October 5, 2022
This book in the Helen Hawthorne series has Helen and her husband, Phil, investigating the disappearance of a ruby and diamond necklace and a golf cart from an estate in Peerless Point. They also are trying to locate a missing John Singer Sargent Watercolor and discover who is the resident ghost at the Flora Park Library. How Helen and Phil manage to solve both of these cases with help from a new tenant at the Coronado Apartments makes for a great story. Really enjoyed this one.
June 25, 2018
This was an enjoyable read, but the solution to the murder wasn't set up well. Then, at the end, it wraps up a little too nicely. Every disagreeable character in this book turns out to be a criminal and ends up in jail. The good characters are likewise rewarded. I like a lot of Elaine Viets' mysteries, but the mystery plot of this one wasn't as good as the others I've read.
July 16, 2020
Another quick, fun read in this cozy series. Helen and Phil work different angles to find out who stole the diamond and ruby necklace while Helen also works on her own at the Flora Park library to solve another mystery. For me, a favorite thing in this series is the end of the book where a little snippet about the future of each key character is mentioned.
October 27, 2020
Helen and Phil have two different jobs for their PI office and lo and behold the two jobs start to blend together. This is about the careless rich and the sense of entitlement that some of them have. Helen and Phil are able to blend in with the staff and servants as they investigate the two jobs. Very good, enjoyed it.
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