It seems a library patron has been busy crossing out the "hells" and "damns" in books based on the the popular ''Murder, She Wrote'' TV series and changing them to "hecks" and "darns."

Layton library workers are at a loss as to what to do about the self-appointed censor who is blotting out the purple prose with a purple pen.

"It would be by luck or a total accident if we were to catch [the culprit]," says county library director Pete Giacoma. "That's why we are asking people to just let us know if they see anything or notice any other markings so that we can get it on the record."

So far, the freelance editor's comments appear to be limited to the Fletcher novels. That's what caught the eye of Charlene Heckert, the reader who pointed out the problem to library officials.

"They've either changed the words or just completely blocked them out with a purple pen," says Heckert, who found the writing in three of four Murder books she checked out from the library's Layton branch. "It's aggravating that somebody would impose their religious standards on everyone else. I'd just tell them to read another book."

Giacoma says such incidents are surprisingly rare.

"Writing in books is not completely unheard of," he says. "But it is a violation of Utah law and the person would be prosecuted if caught."

According to the Utah Library Theft and Mutilation Act, it is a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The crime is considered a class A misdemeanor if the item destroyed is valued at more than $300.

The library usually asks the offender - if caught - to pay for the item.

Giacoma notes that with 1.6 million books circulating through the county's library system, it would be difficult to prove which patron is wielding the purple pen.

Workers are not sure that the editing is limited to one user reading this particular series. It could be that several patrons have marked other books with various colored pens.

"Without knowing the condition of every book that is checked out and checked back in, we couldn't prove with any certainty that the writing wasn't there when the book left the library," he says.

"Our best hope is that this individual has a moment of revelation and desists."

lorib@sltrib.com