Millionaire land developer Micky Buchanan's death on a lonely road in Michigan's north country brought his old friend, retired investigative journalist Jim Stanton back to a world he had vowed to never revisit. Buchanan had always told Stanton that his questions were both his greatest virtue and his worst attribute, and with the help of weekly newspaper publisher Jan Coldwell and her staff, Stanton's questions define the virtues and perils of developements that attract only the world's richest to locales with unique attributes

In this, the second Jim Stanton Mystery, the retired community journalist is confronted by two mysteries, one trivial, the other fatal, but in the end they combine to remind him that even in perfect stories, everything doesn't always -work out- for all concerned. Lucja Rantford, matriarch of the James Ranch and Sheep Co., near Pendleton, Oregon, goes missing as the city prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its rodeo. As Stanton shows off his city and its rodeo the Lawton family visiting from Michigan they take in the Round-Up museum where one of the children in the family points out...

When state high school track champion Suzanne Czarnopias goes missing, her sleepy hometown that calls itself -The Heart of the Finger Lakes- is shocked. When the newspaper's new, young managing editor, Jim Stanton, breaks the story on the front page, the town's civic leaders are surprised. When the police find no clues to Suzanne's fate, that shock and surprise quickly turn to anger; first at the police, and then at the newspaper which continues to report the story on the front page. That anger gets livid when their newspaper prints letters to the editor from an unknown writer claiming to be...

Of Swans and Swine... For Janice Coldwell Stanton, the final class reunion at Stoney High School would be her last chance to capture a specific -look- from those people in her hometown who only knew her as the tall, skinny, frumpy, piano-playing accompanist she had been in high school. In a candid moment, she had to admit it would be worth the trip back home just to see how those folks would react to seeing the poised, beautiful, successful business woman that she had become. And, she couldn't deny that double take would be all the sweeter with her -trophy- husband in tow. After this year,...

Encoding... In this, the 7th Jim Stanton Mystery, the retired journalist is confronted with deciphering a maze of codes, ultimately requiring him to evaluate his personal code of ethics. A long-time friend has gone missing. Jim has been asked to help in a search to find the man. What follows is a baffling search that takes Jim inside a Phoenix crime family. From there the trail leads to Las Vegas, Silicon Valley, and finally to San Jose where his unique talent for asking the right questions entangles him in a 20-year-old cold case. And still no closer to finding his friend. When his search...