The Missing
Sam Simoneaux arrived in France for the Great War just in time to clean up after the Germans. Not a pleasant job, and although he usually got along anywhere in the world, he was eager to return to his native Louisiana. His search for normal work led him to a job as floorwalker in a large New Orleans department store. Until the fateful day a little girl went missing on his watch. Sam was fired, unless he could find little Lily, whose showboat parents insisted the thief was a spectator on the popular Mississippi dance boat where Lily sang as their feature attraction. Joining the steamboat personnel seemed the best way for Sam to search for Lily’s kidnappers. Filled with fervor for his task, Sam followed leads which brought him into the dark, dangerous bayous where life was cheap. Yet, as he veers closer to discovery, he is faced with a problem. Which family does Lily really belong with, and does he have the right to choose?
Tim Gautreaux’s latest story of the depth of native bayou customs clashing with life in the new century intrigues and immerses the reader deeply into the world and culture of Sam Simoneaux and his people. The author knows his terrain and his history and brings it to life in a way that is universal. This is truly a story that lives with the reader long after the last page is read; it whets the appetite for the author’s next engrossing saga.
