Roadside Mysteries by Gary Laney

Four retired friends set out on the road trip of a lifetime, planning a year visiting America's national parks. What they get instead is a murder they can't ignore.

When Maggie—a sharp former defense attorney—and her husband David, a retired history teacher, roll into the small town of Ashwood, Oregon, they're just looking for a place to rest. But June Holloway, desperate and worn down by five years of not knowing, asks them to look at her daughter Sarah's cold case file. Sarah disappeared at seventeen, investigating the town's founding families. The case was closed. Everyone moved on.

What begins as a two-week detour becomes a five-month investigation that will expose genocide, murder, and corruption hidden beneath Ashwood's carefully constructed facade. The four friends will break the law, risk everything, and discover that some truths are worth any cost.

And sometimes justice requires more than following the rules.

A cozy mystery with heart. A thriller with conscience. A story about four friends who learn that retirement isn't about stopping—it's about finally pursuing what truly matters.