Mathematical pursuits Book

A good entry in the series. Starts off as a pleasant cozy mystery as Mary Helen leaves the college to work at a downtown women's shelter, but the first day on the job she discovers the corpse of a young female prostitute at the door. It seems like Mary Helen will have an interesting adventure solving the murder, but the book takes a strange turn as the main story line is about an ambitious politician and his neglected wife who is a volunteer at the refuge. There are long agonizing passages about their relationship and its degradation. The murder mystery story line resumes in the final third of the book. In the climax of the story Mary Helen is attacked and about to be stabbed, and all she can do is pray. But give her a break! -- she is in her 80s and not in any shape to fight back, run away, or defend herself. Luckily she is surrounded by friends who love her and they save the day.