Different Paths — Judy Clemens

When Stella?s friend and veterinarian Carla Beaumont is car-jacked it?s just the beginning of a rash of vicious attacks on local business women. A truck driver, minister, and personal trainer are next in line for vandalism and theft, but the community is shaken to the core when the kind-hearted Dr. Peterson is found murdered in her office.

Stella, worried that she and her farmhand Lucy might be next in line, takes it upon herself to find the connection between the victims ? something other than their gender. Who knew about these women enough to go after them? It seems obvious that someone is targeting specific leaders in the town, and Stella makes it her job to track down the killer and get the good Detective Willard to stop the violence.

Meanwhile, Stella?s boyfriend, Nick, joins her on the farm when he hears of the danger surrounding her. Will he, with his newly diagnosed MS, be able to protect her? And does she even want him to? It?s hard enough that Nick?s younger sister hates Stella and what she represents, but will that be able to keep them from making the decisions about the future?

As Stella investigates she 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 which way to focus her attention. But she knows she must--before any more women die.