Different Paths

A sprightly tale and a surprising ending, along with Clemens’s trademark quirky characters. -Kirkus Reviews When dairy farmer Stella Crown’s friend, veterinarian Carla Beaumont, is car-jacked it’s just the first of a rash of vicious attacks on local business women. Then three more women-a truck driver, a minister, and a personal trainer-are targeted for vandalism and theft. But the community is shaken to the core when the kind-hearted Dr. Peterson is found murdered in her office. Worried that she and her farmhand Lucy might be next in line, Stella makes it her job to find the connection between the victims, get the good Detective Willard to stop the violence, and track down the killer. Meanwhile, Stella’s boyfriend Nick insists on joining her on the farm. Will he, with his newly diagnosed MS, be able to protect her? Does she even want him to? As she investigates, Stella finds much that doesn’t seem right in her usually quiet town. Between her suspicions of steroids at the local gym, irate patients at the doctor’s office, and Carla’s brand-new boyfriend, Stella’s not sure where to focus her attentions. But focus she must-or more women will die.