Where Waters Run North

Veterinarian Kent Stephenson and a local Native American leader put aside their differences as they conspire to defend their town from a greedy corporation that is desecrating their river. Doctor Stephenson's day-to-day routine of caring for animals is shattered by the apparently random murder of his lifelong friend. He and his hound, Lucinda, are drawn into the investigation. Kent soon suspects that small-town politics surrounding a new riverside resort have led to murder, and that it won't end with just one victim. When a nameless toddler is found wandering alone by the river, all bets are off. Before long, Kent is mired in a conflict between Native American beliefs and modern-day avarice. As he unravels the mystery, Kent struggles with the emotional upheaval of a new love interest, and a crushing sense of helplessness, as he fights the medical battle of his career to save the life of his daughter's prize stallion. Along the way, Kent is forced to face a gut-wrenching reality—traditional Native medicine is saving animals that are dying in his hands.

The Kent Stephenson Thriller Series contains suspense-filled mysteries played out against a backdrop of veterinary medicine in the 1980's. The books are fast paced and plot driven. The series centers around Doctor Kent Stephenson, a reclusive veterinarian in a small Upstate New York town. Despite his best efforts to avoid entanglements with his clients and patients, he is inevitably drawn into cases of murder and other mayhem that threaten the people around him and beyond. A reluctant hero, Kent is quiet, even somewhat bashful, but when cornered and the stakes are high, he fights like a rottweiler. He and his companion, a dog named Lucinda, risk their lives to unravel each crime, to which there is always more than initially appears, and bring justice.

If you've read many author biographies, you are aware that most authors know at a young age they want to be writers. That's not the case for Frank Martorana; he never wanted, or expected, to be a writer. In fact, the thought of him as one would make his high school English teachers chuckle, for sure. All he ever wanted to be was a veterinarian. Martorana grew up in upstate New York, near Albany. After graduating from the Veterinary College at Cornell University, he joined the Cazenovia Animal Hospital, a thriving cattle, horse, and pet practice in Central NY. Over the years he morphed from the rookie in constant need of mentoring, to the old man who mentored many bright young veterinarians that followed after him. It's strange how things work out.