Townsend, Peggy: The Botanist‘s Assistant

"A murder in the science lab shatters a woman‘s satisfyingly quiet life when she decides she must solve the crime herself in this entertaining feel-good mystery. Margaret Finch knows that when she turns fifty-one, the day won‘t be celebrated. Like every other day, she will follow the same meticulous routine that she‘s had for the past ten years as Research Assistant II for Roosevelt University‘s brilliant professor of botany, Dr. Jonathan Deaver. No surprises. But as it turns out, she couldn‘t be more wrong. On the morning of her fifty-first birthday, Margaret finds her boss lying dead in his office, a pool of blood around his once-handsome head. That day of all days marks quite the dramatic shift in her otherwise mundane life. At the time of his death, Professor Deaver was on the cusp of a discovery that could bring a new treatment for lung cancer. As expected, his death shakes the tight-knit community of academics, but the coroner rules it to have been caused by a genetic heart defect. Margaret, however, isn‘t so sure. The small things she noticed out of place that morning do not add up. Soon, she uncovers a labyrinth of secrets, rivalries, and hidden agendas surrounding the professor‘s death. With the help of a newly hired and enigmatic night custodian, she races against the clock to unmask the killer. But as Margaret starts to dissect the truth behind Professor Deaver‘s death, she may also learn the truth about the tragedy that changed her from a once-confident young science student to a woman plagued by a guilt she can never shake loose..."--