BART Book: Miss Zukas and the Stroke of Death

Miss Zukas and the Stroke of Death
Jo Dereske, 1995
third in the Miss Zukas library mysteries
www.jodereske.com

Miss Helma Zukas has very definite opinions on a lot of things. When her new boss, the past-her-bloom flower-child Ms. Moon (or Moonbeam), was passing out a box of orange slips with dates for her new brain-child, "Camp-Out in a Book," Miss Zukas refused at first to take one because "she never considered committing herself to the unknown." She was smart to be wary because she certainly would not have wanted to spend the night in the library with an unruly passel of ten-year-olds. In fact, she accepted, albeit reluctantly, the offer to be on the library's team for the annual Snow to Surf relay race which just happened to be on the same day as the date on her orange slip. Moonbean had to cover that night's sleep-over. Hee hee.

Her father had introduced her as a young girl to the joys of M&Ms but she ate only the plain ones, slipping one under her tongue. "Helma had never tried a peanut M&M." She took her food out of the fridge and let it sit on the countertop to come to room temperature. "Helma Zukas disliked overly hot or overly cold foods." She chose not wear sunglasses when she went canoeing down the river. She didn't like how they "altered the color of the world."

One of my favorite ongoing quirks of Miss Zukas is that she refuses to acknowledge that the stray cat she paid a vet's bill for is her cat. She calls it Boy Cat Zukas because that's what the vet's office called it and she makes sure he never gets in her apartment. But she somehow bought kitty treats at the grocery store just because they were on sale. Hmm. Not your cat, eh, Miss Zukas?

Favorite part: the descriptions of canoeing down the river, just beautiful
Least favorite part: can't think of one

Next BART Book: Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton
(I may actually read this one at home as it might a little too sexy to read in public.)
Previous BART Book: Black Powder War by Naomi Novik

Books on the Shelf:
Shark Island, Joan Druett
The Art of Detection, Laurie R. King
Magic or Madness, Justine Larbalestier
Luck in the Shadows, Lynn Flewelling
Site Unseen, Dana Cameron
Virgin Earth, Philippa Gregory
Out of Circulation, Jo Dereske
Dead in Vineyard Sand, Philip R. Craig