Fenton's Journey

Marty Fenton is an older graduate student who moonlights as a PI. As he struggle to complete his PhD in psychology he unexpectedly finds himself embroiled in two new cases, one of which involves a dark family secret his mother has kept from Marty and his sister since they were children. Marty is forced to revist his family's history as he tries to track down a long-missing relative. As he pursues this secret he encounters some interesting characters and several shocking surprises. At the same time he is trying to unravel his family mystery, Angie, his good friend's wife, asks him to find a confused, disheveled woman who has wandered into Sunday Mass and abruptly disappears. His search for this woman takes him to a Catholic monastery as well as several churches where he learns about what really goes on inside these sacred spaces.While Marty tries to complete his dissertation and conduct his investigations, he is also dealing with his chronic ambivalence about making a commitment to a romantic partner. Faith Pasternak, an attorney he has been dating since they met on a previous case, has issued an ultimatum: either get married or end the relationship. Marty propsed to her several months ago but is having difficulty setting a wedding date .Marty is not your typical sleuth. More brains than brawn; tortoise than hare. His pesonal demons compete for his attention but he persists until he solves the case he is wworking on.