Stella Crown manages to get in more trouble in this series (this is the fifth entry) than anyone could expect from a Pennsylvania dairy farmer who gets up in the wee hours to milk her herd and has plenty to do all day around the farm. In this installment, her friend and vet, Carla, is almost killed when her truck is hijacked while she is hanging on to the door after her coat is caught. Then her female doctor is killed. Victims of other incidents include a business manager and the manager of a local gym, both women. Who’s the perpetrator and why?
The possible danger to Stella and her farmhand, Lucy, brings boyfriend Nick up from Virginia to keep watch and provide protection. Meanwhile Stella seeks a common thread to the events. There are plenty of suspicions to provide red herrings throughout, keeping the reader jumping.
Written smoothly, Stella is an interesting and engaging character. Thus far in the series, she has carried it with ease and interest, each entry presenting a different subject. In the present case, it seems as if women’s rights are the key. Also in question is Stella’s personality and femininity. But the reader continues to be kept off balance. Recommended.
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Theodore Feit