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Stella Crown is grateful that her boyfriend Nick Hathaway is dealing with his MS pretty easily. The same cannot be said of his family and they are not all appreciative of Stella or the attraction she holds for Nick. The fact that her dairy farm is several states away from Nick’s home and family makes the situation even tenser. This issue gets pushed to the back of her mind, when her friend and large animal vet, Carla Beaumont, is carjacked. Carla is injured but luckily, all of her injuries will heal. While Stella is very happy that Carla survived the attack and is on the mend, she has her doubts about Carla’s new boyfriend. Stella is sure that something is wrong with him and that he will negatively impact Carla’s emotions and life. Unfortunately this carjacking is only the beginning. More acts of violence and vandalism occur in the community. These acts include vandalism in and around the church and its brand-new female minister. Then Stella’s doctor, Dr Peterson, is murdered. The day before the murder, Stella overheard several patients grumble about having a woman doctor so Stella is sure that these events are connected. With all of the victims being female, her hypothesis is plausible. Someone is attacking women who hold jobs traditionally viewed as male jobs and Stella does not want to be the next victim. While dairy farming is not a popular job, it is certainly one normally held by men. Rather than allowing the local police to investigate, she assists Detective Willard with the witness questioning and alibi investigation. DIFFERENT PATHS is the fifth book in the Stella Crown series. Author Judy Clemens has created a unique character, as Stella is both a biker and a dairy farmer – two activities most people would never associate with one another. Clemens also works hard to incorporate some Mennonite activities (youth groups etc) into her mystery plot. As Stella Crown is by no means religious, this inclusion does not feel as evangelism but merely as a factor in Stella’s every day life. Stella Crown is a tough character to like. While she loves her friends and family deeply, she is very rigid and judgmental. In fact, many of them admit that they are scared of telling Stella things in case she reacts poorly. In addition, once she gets hung up on an idea – her dislike of Carla’s boyfriend is a prime example – she sticks with it regardless of reason or evidence to the contrary. Stella is so abrasive and narrow-minded that it is difficult for me to warm up to her. I wanted to like her, as she is a strong independent character; however, her negative traits overwhelm most of her more attractive qualities.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, December 2000
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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