Miss Zukas & The Stroke of Death

Miss Zukas and the Stroke of Death (Miss Zukas Mysteries) by Jo Dereske ~~

Librarian par excellence Miss Helma Zukas is a woman of many talents—and civic-minded to boot. Which is why she agrees, albeit reluctantly, to employ her long-dormant canoeing skills in the service of the Bellehaven Library relay race team in the famous Snow to Surf Race. But first she has a more pressing obligation—namely keeping her dear, somewhat flaky artist friend, Ruth Winthrop, off Death Row.
Flamboyant Ruth, it seems, has rejected the advances of a dirty old man in a local bar, who later, rather inconveniently, turns up dead just outside her studio. Helma knows Ruth is no killer, even though the police consider her the prime suspect. Now, time is running out. By asking too many questions about one unsavory dead man, Miss Zukas is paddling in dangerous waters. And the carefully buried scandals her snooping is uncovering could sink the inquisitive librarian permanently. (From Amazon)

Once again Helma finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation. This time it's her good friend Ruth who is the prime suspect. In the meantime her co-worker Patricia suffers the loss of her beloved Binky and Helma is persuaded to join the Snow to Surf race. In between working at the library and training for the race, Helma tries to help Ruth clear her name. And of course she asks one to many questions and puts herself in danger. Helma accidentally finds out who the killer is, and when confronted the killer persuades her to keep the info quiet. She feels bad for the killer and shockingly agrees to it. Does Helma do the right thing by keepng her mouth shut or does it come around and bite her in the butt??? This is one book that was so well written the killer will come as a shock to all that read it!