Half-Life — Judy Genandt

Half-Life usually refers to the length of time it takes for half the atoms of a radioactive substance to disintegrate. Or, it could describe Amanda Bellwood, a grief-stricken college freshman leading an empty and incomplete life.When Amanda's family is killed in a car crash near Chicago, she must reluctantly move in with Jeff Kipling, an attractive young professor who has been designated by her father as her guardian. Although it is determined that the Bellwoods vehicle was sabotaged and its occupants murdered, this information is being withheld from the young womanfor her own protection. Conflicted and torn, Amanda unwittingly holds the key to the murder mysteryone that will involve her school and its faculty, the police and a nuclear weapons complex. While her guardian is responsible for keeping Amanda alive and unharmed, Jeff is becoming increasingly attracted to his young ward. It is not until the enemy strikes once more with deadly purpose, that the conspiracy is revealed and Amanda's life can become full once more.