For her eighth book, Lynnette Baughman uses her own driving need to tell the truth to create compelling characters.

Set in the Seattle area, “Silent Witness” follows investigative reporter Carly Benton, who uncovers a mystery in which witnesses in a murder trial are turning up dead.

To complicate the matter, her sister is a witness and has gone missing.

In her investigation, Benton teams up with Jack Fallon, a mysterious stranger suspected of killing one of the witnesses, to find her sister before it’s too late.

Expanding on her line of mystery novels, Baughman said she’s a political junkie.

“I’m intrigued by struggles of the little guy in real life against the big guy,” she said.

“The idea of whistleblowers is important to me.”

Her interest in investigative journalism stems from her mother, who was a union officer who fought on behalf of employees. Baughman said there were efforts to fire her, but her mom fought back and took her case to the U.S. Senate and won.

“It’s part of my DNA to fight to tell the truth,” she said. “This also comes from my time as a reporter.”

The book unveils more mysteries throughout: Baughman said even when Benton recovers enough evidence for the truth, the characters have a hard time finding people to back them up and enforce the law.

Though there is a conclusion, Baughman said, the characters are set for a sequel at some point in the future.

“Silent Witness” is available as an e-book only. Baughman said it’s a contemporary story and she felt a sense of immediacy to release it in this format.

“I wanted it to come out while the topics are still current,” she said.

Along with “Silent Witness,” Baughman has seven other books in print and available electronically. Two of her mysteries are set in Los Alamos, N.M., and two others in Las Vegas, Nev.

A member of Romance Writers of America, she wrote an award-winning romance set in Montana, “Love with a Welcome Stranger,” and two follow-on romances set in the same town.

Baughman and her husband, Bill, moved to Sequim 10 years ago from Los Alamos, where she was a newspaper editor.