
To Helvetica and Back
A Dangerous Type Mystery, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Marguerite Gavin
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By:
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Paige Shelton
Star City is known for its slopes and its powder. But nestled in the valley of this ski resort town is a side street full of shops that specialize in the simple charms of earlier eras. One of those shops is the Rescued Word, where Chester Henry and his adult granddaughter Clare lovingly repair old typewriters and restore old books. Who ever thought their quaint store would hold the key to some modern-day trouble?
When a stranger to town demands they turn over an antique Underwood typewriter they're repairing for a customer, Clare fears she may need to be rescued. A call to the police scares the man off, but later Clare finds his dead body in the back alley. What about a dusty old typewriter could possibly be worth killing for?
©2016 Paige Shelton (P)2017 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















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Type interesting
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With Jodie, her best friend who is a cop, Clare looks into the case, especially after she has no alibi for the murder. But she also meets Seth, a geologist who has just moved to the area, and discovers a spark between them, a spark she hasn't known in years.
I really enjoyed the setting of this book! I loved the details of learning about typewriters. I'm old enough to have watched my mother do all her typing on the newest models, but I never had experience actually using one beyond the occasional times I sneaked into the study and played with my mom's typewriter. So as a child of the computer age, I really found these details fascinating! But I also really loved the aspects of restoring books. We get to see Clare as she creates a missing page from an old and sentimental but not valuable edition of Tom Sawyer, which is how she meets Seth, who owns the book.
The mystery plot had fewer twists and turns than a lot of good mystery books. I found it interesting but not gripping. And I did not find the conclusion very satisfying, especially since it did not give us a very good opportunity to guess the solution.
Besides the fantastic setting of the book, the other redeeming feature of To Helvetica and Back is the descriptive characters found in Clare and her grandfather Chester, as well as others in the book like Seth and Jodie. But one detail that seems strange to me is the fact that while we see Clare and her brother as well as her grandfather, known to even his grandchildren and great- grandchildren as Chester, there is no mention of Clare's parents.
I found the title curious, having no clue what Helvetica was or what it had to do with the book. Looking up the term on Wikipedia, I learned that Helvetica is the name of the typeface, or font, that was one of the most popular in typewriters in the 20th century. Now that I understand the play on words that comes with this term, I find the title fun, but I doubt most readers will get the pun or know any better than I did what Helvetica is. If only the book had included an explanation of the word, it would have made the title fun for everyone.
I discovered this delightful audiobook because I was perusing the books performed by Marguerite Gavin, whom I really appreciate, and hoped to find something else to listen to by her. And I was very pleased by this performance by Gavin, who adds to the liveliness of the book.
Despite the weak mystery plot, I had a good time listening to this book. The setting and atmosphere were delightful and the characters fun. I see this as a promising start to a new series with potential. I give the book four stars.
A Mystery in a Delightful Setting
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5 STARS
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Good story but...
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fun read
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Love it!
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Who would ever think someone might get killed after trying desperately to buy or steal an old typewriter? Well, that is the dilemma in this book. As Clare has to work with her best friend Jodi and her brother Creighton (whom she formerly dated) who are both part of the Sky City, Utah police force, to solve this odd mystery, she faces danger, and finds love.
I think the strength of this book was in creation of interesting characters. The weakness might have been the narration, which was okay, but felt a little lackluster. I wouldn’t call this a page-turner, but it was a good solid listen. Recommend.
Pretty good, as cozies go...
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Nice cozy mystery
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Ridiculous
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no thanks
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