Books with author John Buckner

A group of teenagers exploring in the woods witness the murder of a U.S. Senator in the murky June twilight. They cannot see well enough to identify the killers or their car. The body is rolled into a tarp and taken away. They are reluctant to notify the police since there is no real evidence that the murder occurred. They get together with the other members of their group the following morning and decide to try to learn enough to go to the police. While researching the Senator on the internet, someone detects their inquiries and they find that they are being followed by two men in a strange car. They contact the Senator's son and explain the situation. He agrees to hire security people to watch the people who are following them. He also allows them to search the late Senator's house, where they find evidence that the Senator had been collecting data on a wealthy financier, who has aspirations for the presidential nomination. The man had tried to blackmail the Senator during an investigation of the Savings and Loan debacle of 2008. After studying the files they find evidence of money laundering for organized crime and reluctantly go to the FBI. After convincing the FBI and the President that the Senator's death was politically motivated, the kids are put under federal protection. The killers still make an attempt to get rid of the kids and wound two of their number. They stick to the case and eventually discover enough to tie the presidential hopeful to the mob. With the help of the FBI and IRS they exact the revenge the Senator had in mind.

A group of teenagers who spend a lot of time in the woods at a tree house they have built over the years have their lives changed dramatically when three of them witness the murder of a U.S. Senator. The only way they know he is a senator is the killer's addressing him by his title. The murder takes place just as night is falling and they can neither describe the killers nor their victim. They are reluctant to report the crime for fear the police will consider it a prank without supporting evidence. When the Senator's body is found at his house, the apparent victim of a botched robbery, the kids know they are into something more complicated than they bargained for. When they start to make inquiries on the internet, they suddenly find that they are being watched and wonder if whoever killed the Senator is sophisticated enough to track them through their computer usage. As they become further involved in the matter they contact the Senator's son and confide in him what they have seen and suspect. He arranges for private security for them and gives them access to his father's house in the Washington suburbs, where they find a cache of files the Senator has been compiling on a wealthy and influential contender for the presidential nomination. Eventually they go to the FBI and convince them that one of the most powerful men in the financial industry has been laundering money all his professional career for organized crime figures. After a failed attempt to kill them, they discover the secrets the files hold and help the FBI to find the evidence necessary to derail the plan that would have put the leadership of our nation in the hands of criminals.