Daylight Girls, The Search for Frank Benson

Art Mystery Thriller

    Buck Madison—early thirties, former FBI Art Crime special agent, needs to rebuild his life. His wife and unborn child died in childbirth. He left the Bureau to become a private investigator. In his grief, he drank more and cut ties to his FBI partner.

   But right now, he just wants to be left alone, damn it, in his cabin west of the small town of Culpeper, VA. The place comes with a stream and view of the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains westward.

   When the mistress of a Senator is murdered, Buck teams up with the victim's best friend, a damn beautiful local policewoman, all curves and hips, to solve the crime.

   A priceless Impressionist painting by Frank W. Benson was also stolen from the scene of the murder.

   As Buck handles his trauma, he begins to heal, with the love of the policewoman.

Buck investigates despite his animosity with the police and the strong-arm tactics of the Senator's staff to deflect Buck's inquiry. As he interviews suspects it becomes clear that one of them has ties to an unknown killer.

   His curiosity about the stolen painting leads him to understand the painting's charm, that of daylight girls…Benson's favorite subjects, his attractive daughters rendered with an academic realist's understanding of the human body and an impressionist's play with light and color. The good life among healthy young women enjoying the sun on a bright summer's day. But the painting has vanished, and its trail might lead to the killer.

   Buck navigates the high-pressure world of politics, but also interviews his working girl contacts on the streets of DC and learns something about a shadowy killer. However, Buck is thwarted by the powerful Senator's staff and local police force who are dragging their feet on the case. Only by reluctantly reconnecting with his best friend at the Bureau can Buck make any progress. More people around the Senator disappear or are found murdered. And the unknown killer thinks Buck is in the way, which has proven to be a tad painful. But this is one way Buck knows he is getting closer. Finding the stolen art may just be the key to stopping the killers before they destroy even more lives.­