In her mind and from her training, Sergeant Julie Worth of the Missouri State Patrol knows she did the right thing. Still the armchair critics back in the office are not so sure and launch the investigation into the shooting at the shopping mall. Julie, who is known for following the rules, gets assigned to cold case desk duty by the Missouri State Criminal Investigation Unit.

Normally used to more action filled assignments, Julie peruses through the files. In most cases the investigating cops had done all they could have done with the info they had, but then Julie starts to notice a number of missing girls cases and suspects a serial killer might be involved. After getting permission to re-interview people related to the files, Julie re-opens the investigation. Meanwhile, the office womanizer Charles Clegg gets wind of why the attractive cop had come to the factory where he works (when he half-heartedly feels like it.) Having murdered some of the women and doing some snooping on the cop, Charles decides he will mess with Julie's life to distract her from the investigation. Figuring he has a clean and untraceable trail, his idea of fun is to kidnap Cheryl, Julie's own fifteen year old daughter!

Despite his careful planning, things do not as the cold- hearted Clegg expects and things swirl into deadly and dangerous waters. Will the police find the perpetrator before it is too late? What will happen to this young teenager? How can they find a meaningful clue that would help?

After retiring from over five decades in the entertainment business, Gene Hackman has been gaining acclaim for his work as a novelist. PURSUIT is every parent's nightmare, but especially so for those in law enforcement. Hackman has done a powerful job in setting up the situation affecting his main character, Sgt. Julie Worth and describing her emotions and reactions both as a mother and as a police officer. He has a great strength in character description and the diverse reactions of people to the challenges they have faced due to Clegg's sleazy actions. I particularly liked how well he describe Cheryl's reactions as she attempts to cope with the unthinkable.

As the abductor is identified fairly early in the story, the plot development centres on how the police start developing their clues as well as Clegg doing his best to thwart their efforts. I found the story to be quite a powerful page turner, especially as the story builds in dramatic intensity. While I found the writing a little uneven in some sections, I am sure fans who like suspenseful thrillers will fully enjoy the intriguing stalking and tracking in PURSUIT!