In THE AWAKENING Josette Bettencourt is trying desperately to turn her family mansion into a Bed and Breakfast, just so she can keep it. But the bank and insurance company are making demands that she has to meet or she won't be able to open on time. Part of the demands is a fence to be put in place to protect her guests from the swamp. Unfortunately the crew trying to put up the fence is being harassed by what they believe is a swamp creature called the Tainted Keitre by the natives of the area. Desparate because her money is fast running out and she fears for her workers, she contacts a detective agency.

Tanner LeDoux, former game warden for the Atchafalaya Basin, now working with his two brothers investigating cases the police have given up on or never took seriously. He's the best tracker and right now the only one available, though he wishes that he wasn't. Tanner has memories of Honey Island Swamp and the little town of Miel. Not all of them were good, and a number of them concern Josette.

It doesn't take long for him to realize there is much more going on then a simple case of harassment. Josie's hiding things, her manager keeps disappearing when he should be working, the crewmen are scared and Tanner's not sure there isn't a swamp monster.

THE AWAKENING is a well written exciting story of the swamplands of Louisiana and the people that live there. It also delves into how one's perceptions of a person you thought you knew or something that was said years ago, can color reality. That is the case with Josie and the townspeople she grew up with and the many misunderstandings that led to the less than warm welcome when she returns home. The romance with Tanner and Josie has its problems because of too many secrets, from both sides, that eventually get worked out to everyone's satisfaction. The conclusion of the story holds a completely unexpected final twist that is actually very spooky leading you to wonder what is really in those swamps.