Out of Hormone's Way — Jane Isenberg

A RIVER OF WOE

Maybe it was a case of menopausal madness -- or the blatant bribe of a pound bag of M&Ms -- but fifty-something Jersey City community college prof Bel Barrett found herself agreeing to head up the Urban Kayaking Club. Now she's dragging her tush down to the banks of the Hackensack River early every Saturday morning when she could be doing something constructive ... like sleeping. But murder puts a damper on her "natural" enthusiasm when the battered corpse of Belinda Judd -- who didn't show up at their previous outing -- is discovered a day later. The cops' prime suspect is club president Jason, who blatantly lied about seeing the dead girl. Jason needs Bel's help, but it's not for this smarmy college Casanova that she's determined to get justice. It's for sweet, shy Belinda, who didn't have an enemy in the world ... except for the creep who killed her, and who is now looking to sink Bel as well.