Loved the premise of a repair shop for old books and typewriters. In an alternate universe, I'd love to learn how to fix old books, so that was fun. Played with my parents' old typewriter as a child so the love for typewriters was a connection. Likeable characters. There was a lot of info held back until the end so it wasn't really possible to figure out the mystery. ( )

Paige Shelton is the author of two other series: The Farm Fresh mysteries and the Country Cooking School mysteries. Both are good, but just missing the mark with me, either because of the writing or the characters and yet both also have qualities that have so far kept me coming back for more.

To Helvetica and Back is the first book in her third series and I think it's her best one yet. It might be the Utah setting, or the heavenly sounding shop, The Rescued Word, that caters to all facets of the written word, including fixing typewriters and restoring books. It could be the characters; there's a wit and banter here that is absent in her other books and it really adds a spark to the narrative. It's likely a combination of all three; there's still a stiffness in the writing but it's not nearly as prevalent and I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

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?

I think the murder plot could likely have used a bit of work. It's not that it's bad and it's not that it was obvious; more like it was missing something in the middle, leaving the ending one that no reader could logically predict. The story itself was great - I loved how Shelton hid the clues and I love the very ending of the book, but most of the suspects were at a remove from the story the entire time. I can't decide if I liked it or if it left me feeling vaguely cheated. Shelton makes up for this though - at least for me - by including interesting moments and facts surrounding the old manual typewriters and a very interesting aside about first editions of Tarzan. I can't think of a cooler sounding store than The Rescued Word and I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with it. ( )

Character List


To Helvetica and Back (A Dangerous Type Mystery #1)

Polygamy Springs Valley. Utah, Star City

Clare Henry,, book restorer cat, Baskerville,

Chester, grandfather owner The Rescued Word. lived upstairs

Jimmy Henry, brother, he was older and his forehead permanently creased, his baby face
Marion, daughter, had become our stationery personalization pro, a beautiful young woman with long blond curls and big blue eyes, she was also intelligent and seventeen,

Mirabelle Montgomery was one of our more frequent customers. grandfather’s very first customers and friend


victim, round face, that his dark hair was thick and straight, that the leather he wore seemed too tight for him

Jodie Wentworth. Police Officer She was also my best friend, had been since we were sixteen, divorced, Her father had been a police officer and so was the brother that I’d broken up with

Omar Miller had been Jodie’s partner for three years, and they worked well together. Omar and his wife

polygamist compound Linea Christiansen, cute cheerleader, beer-drinking party girl, come to want to be someone’s sister-wife

monastery, sworn-silent monks did two things: prayed and made wine

Anorkory Levena built up a steady business full of people who actually wanted to learn Latin,

Officer Creighton Wentworth operated differently than his sister, Jodie.

Seth James Cassidy. geologist book, Tom Sawyer.” “handsome,” then “tall,” then, of all things, cute. new town geologist.

Purple Springs Valley. a motorcycle gang, group was called Angels for Animals.(AFA)
Mutt tall, dressed all in leather. omputer programmer down in Salt Lake City
Ingrid had long brown hair and green eyes. She didn’t recognize the victim.

Kristina Leamens chocolate store, one that did things the old-fashioned way,

Oren O’Malley. Irish pub owner

Homer Mayfair was a legend, editor at the local small newspaper,

Officer Streed, probably in his forties, with a deeply receding hairline and heavy dark circles under his brown eyes.

Dan Nelson, attorney, recently joined my father’s firm

Olive ,first edition of Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs,

Elizabeth Owl. owned Star City Stars, shop specialized in charms, stones, and crystals that were supposed to give off particular energies.

Ramona Bridger. Chester's girlfriend, she's special




( )

I liked the new heroine of this series quite a bit. Clair and her grandfather Chester own a store in a fictional ski town in Utah where they repair typewriters and books, sell stationary and even have a printing press. One day their friend Maribelle brings in her beloved typewriter for repair. No sooner had she dropped it off than a burly biker dude come in and tries to steal it. He fail, and soon after is found dead. I liked the cast of characters, a lot and the small town, everyone knows everything about everybody feel worked well. I am looking forward to getting to know them better. ( )

Entertaining story of a young woman who works in her grandfathers typewriter repair/antique store in a Utah ski resort town. Someone is trying to steal a typewriter brought in for repair, and that someone is later found dead in the alley behind the store. Lots of local characters and some silver mining history are involved. ( )