Out of Hormone's Way: A Bel Barrett Mystery (Bel Barrett Mysteries (Avon Books))
A trio of menopausal women trade quips and investigate a murder  in Isenberg's (Midlife Can Be Murder, etc.) chatty cozy starring  50-something college professor Bell Barrett. Things become  decidedly unpleasant at River Edge Community College when one of  Bel's students, the dyslexic Belinda Judd, disappears following  an outing with the Urban Kayaking Club and turns up dead a week  later. The police suspect Jason Carillo, a club member on whom  Belinda had a crush. Aware of Bel's penchant for "figuring stuff  like this out," Jason appeals to her for help, and Bel,  believing in his innocence, once again enlists her cohorts Betty  and Illuminada, a private investigator, to find the real  culprit. Sol, her always supportive companion, is on hand, as is  her mother, who lives nearby. In the midst of the investigation,  Illuminada finds she has a lump in her breast, and her  girlfriends rally round throughout the scare. Meanwhile, local  politics conflict with environmental concerns, setting the  community on edge. Bel's sleuthing is frequently interrupted by  personal concerns, but seeing her deal with them is nearly as  compelling as watching her unravel the mystery. References to  the World Trade Center ground the story on the Jersey side of  the Hudson, and Bel's enduring friendship with Betty and  Illuminada flesh out an otherwise thin mystery. (Sept. 3)Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.