Journal of a Ten Months’ Residence in New Zealand (1823)

Young and confident Branson Daily News reporter Kate Starling has a tendency to break the rules to get and to deliver a good story. Up till now, the big news in Branson was centered around the rapid building boom and sudden influx of big-name entertainers to this once quiet country music capital. With the violent death of a local businessman, Kate easily outmaneuvers her co-worker to cover the story, then becomes obsessed with finding the killer when her father tops the suspect list. Her adventures in solving the mystery of the dead man’s past as well as his murder take her from the Ozark hills to the Kansas City mob and back. Adding another layer of frustration, Kate’s personal life is turned upside down by the return to town of her childhood sweetheart just after she moves into her new boyfriend’s apartment. As her personal and professional worlds collide, she struggles to maintain her focus: to convince everyone else of the one thing of which she is certain-her father is innocent.