Murder Below Zero — John Reynolds

Maxine Benson has left a bad marriage and a big-city policing career to become chief of a small-town police force. The setting in the Muskoka region of Ontario is picturesque, but the reception by many residents is cool and distant. Many do not believe a petite fortysomething woman can handle policing chores, even in a sleepy place like Port Ainslie. When the town bully is found murdered, the list of suspects is long. But Max has the opportunity to prove herself to the town. Can she find the killer...or must she turn the case over to the provincial police, who sneer at her capabilities simply because she is a woman?