Relentless Pursuit by Kathy Herman

With the ashes of two parents to scatter, Sax Henry has only one thing on his mind. Find his missing sister.

It’s been twenty-eight years since Sax left home in the middle of the night. Twenty-eight long years since he left his vulnerable teenage sister in an abusive home. Twenty-eight years of built up guilt and a burning desire for peace.

After three years of searching, Sax finally has a lead that could reunite him with his sister, Shelby. Packing his bag, he sets off to Les Barbes, Louisiana. What he doesn’t expect to find at the end of the trail is wealthy Adele Woodmore, Shelby’s ex-employer, putting his attempts at reconciliation on hold while she decides whether to give him the vital information he needs. Forced to stay longer than anticipated in Les Barbes, Sax books into a guesthouse to await Adele’s decision.

Instead of the idyllic tourist town Sax envisioned, Les Barbes soon becomes the center of national attention when a suspected bio-terrorist attack begins to claim lives. With most of the local eateries closing down due to the cyanide threat, Sax frequents Zoe B’s Cajun Eatery, run by Zoe Broussard and her husband, Pierce. Between the guesthouse and the eatery, Sax becomes acquainted with numerous residents whose lives are entwined by the tragedy engulfing the town.

Can Sax find his sister and the peace he desperately craves amidst a town reeling from loss and suspicion?

From page one, I was pulled into Sax’s desire to find his sister and make right his tormented past. With his parents gone and failed marriages behind him, Sax longs for a connection with the sister he had abandoned. Anyone who has lost or hurt a loved one will sympathize and relate with Sax as he searches for the forgiveness he desperately needs.   

Sax is not the only character readers will relate too. Relentless Pursuit has a large cast of characters, each one unique and struggling in their own way. I soon found myself grieving along with the townsfolk over those who had become victims to the cyanide attack. I did figure out who was behind the cyanide poisonings early on, but this didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story.

Although Relentless Pursuit is the third in the Secrets of Roux River Bayou series, the first two titles being False Pretenses and Dangerous Mercy, I had no trouble following the many characters and their previous histories. Herman is a master at interweaving the current storyline with just enough backstory to keep readers informed without clogging the existing action. I will definitely be reading the two previous books in this series and reacquainting myself with the now familiar characters. Come with me. Pick up one of the series and immerse yourself in the rich Cajun flavors of south Louisiana.  

My thanks to TitleTrakk.com for providing a review copy of Relentless Pursuit.