The Lost Cause (Randy Lassiter & Leslie Carlisle mysteries)

In this, the fourth novel in the Randy Lassiter/Leslie Carlisle series, our determined pair find themselves dealing with a situation far removed from anything they've ever encountered. Working closely with Booker Arrison, Randy's eccentric yet techo-savvy uncle, they strive to make sense of a sequence of disturbing discoveries Booker has made in the deep recesses of the Dark Web. They're stunned to learn a million-dollar lottery winner has agreed to subsidize construction of a summer camp for youth established by a group of right-wing extremists. When prominent State Senator Somerset Spartacus Smith, a dear friend, is savagely attacked via a carefully calculated social media campaign, his political feature is at stake. Soon thereafter, Senator Smith is held hostage following a brazen kidnapping -- with his captors making extraordinary demands for his release. As the deadline for his freedom draws close, Randy and Leslie uncover a startling breakthrough at a remote location hidden away in the rural Ozarks, only to be arrested on trespassing charges by the local county sheriff.
Meanwhile, Randy and the team at his advertising agency are putting in long hours to land the prestigious marketing account of his dreams, and Leslie remains busy keeping up with her assignments as a professional photographer. But their routines are unexpectedly upset and their lives forever changed -- this time by the secretive actions of a dedicated radical outfit.