Death on the Slopes

 Death on the Slopes (1978) by Norma Schier

Jason Ryder has been trying to recover from the death of his wife in a tragic car accident when two things happen. Valerie Mayne, a woman who says she was friend of his wife in college, shows up at his door and attaches herself, limpet-like, to him. He just can't seem to get her to get a job and an apartment and out of his hair. And he receives a letter from his cousin asking if he'd like a change from the high-powered world of New York publishing to the mountain slopes of Colorado. His cousin, who teaches at a small college in Aspen, is going to Italy to teach and there's an open position. Jason decides the change is just what he needs...and it's a chance to get rid of Valerie gracefully.

Except...

"But Jason, that's too good to be true! I'm dying to go to Aspen!"

And the limpet tags right along to Colorado. Where she immediately stirs up trouble, making everyone think that Jason has a live-in girlfriend. So...when Valerie winds up stabbed with a ski pole and Jason was last person known to be her...well what is the detective in charge of the case to think?

But...Aspen's newest female D.A., Kay Barth, doesn't think the police have enough evidence to make a charge stick and demands that the officers dig a little deeper into Valerie's past. Except...it's evident that's going to be a challenge. Despite making the national news and calls for information, no one comes forward as family or friends to help the police or claim the body. Could there be something in Valerie's past that finally caught up with her on the ski slopes? New evidence is found that there were other men in Valerie's life and that she had history of using what she knew about people to get what she wanted. Whose position did she threaten the most?

This is one of the better mysteries in the Zebra Puzzler series, though one could have hoped for more clues to the motive. On the plus side, there are plenty of suspects to choose from and there are several clues that could point more than one way. So the book is true to the series name--providing a puzzle for the reader. With the set-up, one did know that Jason would be cleared even though it looked quite black for him even at moments towards the end. And this series just isn't the type to turn things absolutely on its head by making the apparently guilty from the beginning suspect the actual villain after all. A fun, quick read that I enjoyed. ★★★★

First line: Margaret Watterson was new to skiing.

Last lines: "You can keep the scotch," she called out. The front door slammed behind her.
**********************

Deaths = 4 (one auto accident; one stabbed; two airplane crash)