Index to Murder

Miss Zukas #11

by Jo Dereske

No one could be more orderly or organized than dedicated librarian Helma Zukas. No one could be more rash and raucous than avant-garde artist Ruth Winthrop. Yet the two women are best friends and a resourceful, ingenious, crime-solving team. So when two of Ruth's latest paintings—each depicting an ex-lover who met a very untimely and mysterious end—are stolen, the amazing amateur detectives get to work.

But digging through Ruth's romantic rendezvous turns up more than broken hearts. There's an angry ex-wife, a jealous fellow artist, and a rampaging group of local tree-huggers. There's trouble brewing in Bellehaven . . . and only Helma and Ruth can make certain that mayhem doesn't lead to murder.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Adult Fiction, Novels, Mystery Thriller

273 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 29, 2008

About the author

I grew up in rural Michigan, greatly influenced by my Lithuanian roots. I'm one of those tedious people who wanted to write stories as soon as I learned to read, but believed I had to leave Michigan first. In fact, I couldn't wait to shake off that Michigan dust! Curiously, everything I write seems to have a connection to Michigan or my Lithuanian heritage.
I now live in the beautiful foothills of Mount Baker, near Bellingham, Washington.
I've loved being a librarian: libraries are one of our last truly public institutions, where the whole world, in all its zits and glory, passes through.
There are twelve titles in the Miss Zukas mystery series. Miss Zukas is tough, honest, crafty, a complicated woman with a deep but futile desire to perceive the world in black and white. And yes, Helma Zukas is what used to be called, a “real” librarian. You might say she embraces the stereotype. Helma is unapologetic.
Ruby Crane is a forgery specialist, a subject that's fascinated me since I forged my first absence excuse in fourth grade. There are three books in the series.
My three young people's books were written when my children were young.
Please visit me on my website!
jo 5/26/2013

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, I love Miss Zukas. I have corresponded with Jo Dereske recently because someone posted that Index to Murder was the last Miss Zukas book. Thank goodness it is not but the bad news is there will only be one more (unless everyone would write to Jo and her publisher and beg for more). Jo is currently working on the finale to the series. Index reveals a little more of Helma's human emotion. Something that is revealed at the end of the book regarding Helma (and nothing to do with the mystery) is very interesting. As I come close to the end of the series I am tempted to start back with book 1, Miss Zukas and the Library Murders and enjoy them all over again. I think that I would now rank Miss Zukas as my favorite bibliomystery. I'm going to miss her.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still love Miss Zukas, though she loses a little something when you read a lot of her books in a row. As a character, she does not progress as much. I love who she is and how she lives her life, but there never seems to be any emotional growth.

Yet, these are books that I read as comfort food and not for any real growth, so I guess I can survive with that!

[Greyling54 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable. The mystery is complex and it took a while to find a motive for the mysterious deaths and the theft of Ruth's paintings, but it all comes together in the end, along with a few other things, like Helma's relationship with the police chief. Looking forward to the final book.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately, there is only one left in this series.

[Paula Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a humorous and good mystery. You never even saw it coming.

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how this one all tied together. Knowing all the characters helps.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Librarian Miss Helma Zukas is an intriguing heroine. Orderly and mannered, but with enough spunk to investigate and solve local crimes to the bemusement of her Chief of Police boyfriend Wayne Gallant, Helma as a character seems older than she actually is. Her eclectic best friend and artist Ruth Winthrop is her polar opposite, and yet the perfect complement for her otherwise organized life. Together they set off on another adventure as Ruth finds herself the victim of theft, and possibly the perpetrator in other crimes she believes are justified, or at least not as bad, in her quest to find out who stole her paintings.

I like the characters, and the mystery was set up well. It's not quite as engaging or funny as other similar series, but it's good.

[Laurann Cowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dereske uses Bellingham, WA for the locale. Helma Zukas is a librarian there and is the perfect personification of someone suffering from OC. Her best friend is avant-garde artist Ruth Winthrop. Two of the most unlikely friends ever. Helma's fellow librarians are also a bunch of characters and her love interest is the Police Chief (now where have I heard that combination before?). Oh, and there's a mystery involving a group of "tree huggers" and two unsolved murders seemingly unrelated. Just enough humor to make it a fun read.

[Jara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book a long time ago; forgot that I had done so; this is why I now use Goodreads!
Dereske writes an engaging mystery with a unique main character, Miss Helma Zukas, public librarian. I designate public librarian, because I am a school librarian, and those are two different specialties. Like Helma, I am organized, but Helma takes it to the extreme. Then again, perhaps that's why she solves mysteries and I do not!

[Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't want to give anything away so I'm careful what I include in these reviews. I have enjoyed this series all the way through. I am starting to see the end, in my opinion. The library employees are starting to act pretty strange. Still, looking forward to the next book which I guess is the last in the series. I read this series because of the librarian aspect. This has been the best librarian series I have found to date.

[Lizzytish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helma is off on another crazy adventure with Ruth as 2 of her paintings have been stolen. They end up being tied in with 2 other deaths. And what’s going on at the library and Mrs Moon? I smell a rat
the fuchsia clue was so implausible

[Lsilberman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally, I found the characters a bit annoying. How did a librarian who was such a "neat freak" end up with such a slob as a best friend? And why did she and her almost-boyfriend stay "almost" for so long?

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most intriguing mystery I have read recently this one gets 10 stars. Now I need to look for all the other Miss Zukas mysteries.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book in an enjoyable series.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun mystery with a librarian as the main character. Lots of other characters thrown in to keep me reading to find out who done it. My second book in this series, and others will follow.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book as expected!!!

[Peggy Huey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of a series of books starring librarian Helma Zukas. This time, her avant-garde artist friend Ruth Winthrop has had 2 paintings stolen from an exhibit show she is planning. The friends work together to solve the mystery of who and why.

[Gail]

What can I tell you? I love Miss Zukas, that librarian's librarian with her silver dime voice that commands quiet and her expertise and dedication in providing knowledge to those seeking it at the public library. By contrast her artist friend Ruth is wild, crazy, undisciplined, sexual, and disorganized. Ruth is doing an art exhibition on scenes from her life, which means her interpretation of her multivariate love life. Then two of her paintings are stolen and her life is threatened.

Miss Zukas will not allow a friend of her to be threatened, nor will her curiosity be quelled; and she starts to investigate and ultimately to discover the murder from a cast of strange characters. The relationship between Miss Zukas and the Chief of Police has slowed to a glacier pace. It seems not to be as sweet as it was in the previous novels. The pace of this one seems a little slower and not as well paced in the past. Miss Zukas seems more in need of diagnosis than a rather well fleshed out stereotype of a really good librarian.

Continuing to amuse and entertain are the antics of the library staff of Bellehaven Public Library which ties in rather neatly with the mystery itself. Since I'm a librarian myself, I am amused and entertained by this delightful series.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Goodreads reminded me at the beginning of this month that I was still in the middle of this 259-page paperback, so today I summoned the spirit of Miss Zukas herself, the spit-polished librarian who finishes everything she starts, and got through the task. I don't know why it felt like work, but it did. A complicated plot involving two artists' studios, a chemistry lab, an environmental activism group, and some mysterious face cream, not to mention two murders and a new haircut -- I just couldn't keep it straight, and I didn't even want to. Though I did like the license-plate mnemonic Miss Z reveals at the end, involving Dewey Decimal numbers, it didn't make up for the dead-on-arrival romance with the once-dashing Chief Gallant. I think my favorite Miss Zukas mystery remains the first one (Miss Zukas and the Library Murders), which involves -- yes -- a body in the library. And at least I can keep the ideal of Miss Zukas alive in my everyday life.(Yeah, right.)

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, this was pretty standard for a Ms. Zukas mystery. I liked that she was starting to break out of her self-imposed rigidity. It felt a little transgressional for her, and that was fun to read. For much of the book, you're not sure that there is indeed a mystery, as the plot revolves around deaths that may or may not have occured under suspicious circumstances. The bone I have to pick is with the advertising on the cover (which almost shied me away from the book). The "rampaging group of local tree-huggers" is nothing more than a band of liberals who plant trees under the cover darkness. Ooooh, a real rampage. Come on. The author lives in the NW, and I was left wondering if they were trying to cash in on the Green Scare. Cheap, and the ending is pretty darn unbelievable.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helma Zukas' artist friend Ruth is heartbroken, but works her way out of her despair with a new series of paintings. But when two of them are stolen, Ruth is enraged. She's done paintings about the men in her life, and the two paintings that were stolen featured her relationship with two men who died mysteriously. The police are surprised to learn that there is a link between them--but the link is Ruth. Meanwhile, police chief Wayne Gallant seems to be trying to spend some time along with Helma to ask her a very particular question.

[Ann Costello · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of a long series of librarian mysteries. Miss Zukas is a bit obsessive compulsive, but very kind. She is very particular about her job as reference librarian in a mid-size Seattle-area city. And she solves mysteries with the help of her wild friend Ruth and her other friend, Sheriff Wayne Gallant. Very gentle, funny mysteries.

[Maryellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I get a big kick out of Helma's friend Ruth. I though the mystery wasn't all that mysterious but I know I read these more for the characters than the plot. I do wish Helma's relationship with the Chief would pick up. And I can't believe Miss Moon gets away with what she does.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helma's artist friend, Ruth, has had a home burglary. Two of her paintings ready for a one-woman retrospective, but also renditions of Ruth's relationships with two, now deceased, Bellehaven residents have been taken. What is the connection to the 2 supposed accidental deaths? Another curious case for Bellehaven's favorite librarian, Helma Zukas, and her kooky sidekick, Ruth.

[Chi Dubinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helma Zukas, reference librarian at Bellehaven Public Library, comes to the aid of her friend Ruth Winthrop, when two of Ruth’s paintings are stolen. Is the thief one of Ruth’s former lovers depicted in the paintings? The always-organized Miss Zukas investigates. Fans of humorous mysteries, like those of Carolyn Hart and Mary Daheim, should check out this series.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read almost all of the books in this series, and this one was just as enjoyable as the others. A charming protagonist (Helma Zukas, persnickety yet heartwarming librarian) solves another murder mystery done cozy-style (nothing gory or graphic). You don't have to read these in order, but be forewarned - if you start reading one, you'll want to read them all. And I highly recommend you do!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Zukas actually changed her hairstyle! But she avoided having to make many other changes by buying her apartment building. What will she do when her car finally gives out? Things are so crazy and unstable!

Miss Zukas, just give in and make that nice policeman happy already. Sigh.

[Qiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of these series that is like a cozy sweater on a cold day. You enjoy coming back to it again and again. I love the characters and all their litter quirks, even Ms. Moon. The lead into the murder(s) in this books seemed a bit contrived, but I didn't mind it too much.

[Jan]

Another librarian book. I like this series, but unfortunately she is mostly a stereotypical librarian. "My" librarian is not stereotypical at all! But it is a good read and gives an inside of library work and the NW part of the country.