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Relentless Pursuit
The true story of the brutal 1993 murder of a mother and daughter in Washington, D.C., told by federal homicide prosecutor Kevin Flynn.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
18 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Flynn
2 booksBIOGRAPHY:
Kevin Flynn’s non-fiction book “Relentless Pursuit” was an Edgar Award nominee. He is a life-long resident of the Washington, D.C. area, and served as a violent crime prosecutor in the city for more than 30 years. “Rock Creek” is his first novel. He lives with his wife Patrice in Northern Virginia; their two children, Connor and Megan, are lawyers living in New York City.
AUTHOR'S PERSONAL STATEMENT ABOUT "ROCK CREEK":
ROCK CREEK is a murder mystery interwoven with a portrait of Washington D.C. at a time that has been largely overlooked in the popular imagination. From the late 1940’s to the early 1950’s, the nation’s capital was just coming into its own as the dominant seat of power in the post-WWII “free world.” It was also still a small town, where the government existed separate and apart from the ordinary working people, mostly Black, who were the majority population. For most in D.C. and throughout the country, the emotional toll of the war was still a significant factor in personal and public life – sometimes overtly, mostly not.
I was born in D.C. into a family whose roots ran deep there. The city of my youth was divided into two parts: political and small town. And so it is still.
As a child, I had a foot in each part: in the political, through my mother, who’d worked on Capitol Hill for years, and in the small town, through everything else I saw and knew. As an adult, my connection to the city has been intensely forged. For over 35 years I handled D.C. violent crime cases as a prosecutor: no politics, all small town.
Several years ago, a book I wrote about one of my cases was published. Much of the book was about the relationship I developed with the Black family whose mother and daughter were the victims of a horrific murder. Their roots in D.C. were as deep as mine, and for a time our families became intertwined in wonderful ways.
ROCK CREEK rose from that book and experience. A friend asked what my next book would be: “Surely,” he said, “you’ve worked on a high-profile case that would be a natural basis for the next one.” In fact, I’d worked on a case that had drawn national attention. A government intern had been slain in D.C., her body found in Rock Creek Park. A congressman, her former lover, was a suspect.
The catch was that I couldn’t write about it. The case wasn’t in court yet. All the details of our investigation were confidential.
I came to realize that if I took the basic facts of the case and reset it in the post-war period as fiction, I had an opportunity to write a far richer story: a better whodunit with more distinctive characters and a much more original, revelatory account of the city and its people that I knew so well. This was my chance to write a detailed, unsentimental portrait of the famous, flawed city that I’ve long loved across its many cultures, capturing it at the time when it was the most fraught: after the war and before the supposed “happy days” of the Eisenhower years.
D.C. might be the capital of the free world, but in those days it was also a small, segregated town riddled with casual and institutional racism – a distant mirror, in some meaningful ways, for all of us today.
Rock Creek Park – the geographical and spiritual center of this book – runs south to north on a line that starts a few miles from the White House and ends past the city limits. It’s a vast expanse of beautiful wilderness, then as now a favored haven for locals, and one of the largest urban parks in the world. In the period of this novel, the Park had a dark side: it divided lower class Blacks on its east side from upper class Whites on its west, to the point where Blacks were arrested for straying past its western edge.
And, it had a strange history of being a dumping ground for randomly murdered women.
The present-day mysterious murder of a compelling and enigmatic victim gave me a plot, and the detective on this unlikely fictional case became
Kevin Flynn’s non-fiction book “Relentless Pursuit” was an Edgar Award nominee. He is a life-long resident of the Washington, D.C. area, and served as a violent crime prosecutor in the city for more than 30 years. “Rock Creek” is his first novel. He lives with his wife Patrice in Northern Virginia; their two children, Connor and Megan, are lawyers living in New York City.
AUTHOR'S PERSONAL STATEMENT ABOUT "ROCK CREEK":
ROCK CREEK is a murder mystery interwoven with a portrait of Washington D.C. at a time that has been largely overlooked in the popular imagination. From the late 1940’s to the early 1950’s, the nation’s capital was just coming into its own as the dominant seat of power in the post-WWII “free world.” It was also still a small town, where the government existed separate and apart from the ordinary working people, mostly Black, who were the majority population. For most in D.C. and throughout the country, the emotional toll of the war was still a significant factor in personal and public life – sometimes overtly, mostly not.
I was born in D.C. into a family whose roots ran deep there. The city of my youth was divided into two parts: political and small town. And so it is still.
As a child, I had a foot in each part: in the political, through my mother, who’d worked on Capitol Hill for years, and in the small town, through everything else I saw and knew. As an adult, my connection to the city has been intensely forged. For over 35 years I handled D.C. violent crime cases as a prosecutor: no politics, all small town.
Several years ago, a book I wrote about one of my cases was published. Much of the book was about the relationship I developed with the Black family whose mother and daughter were the victims of a horrific murder. Their roots in D.C. were as deep as mine, and for a time our families became intertwined in wonderful ways.
ROCK CREEK rose from that book and experience. A friend asked what my next book would be: “Surely,” he said, “you’ve worked on a high-profile case that would be a natural basis for the next one.” In fact, I’d worked on a case that had drawn national attention. A government intern had been slain in D.C., her body found in Rock Creek Park. A congressman, her former lover, was a suspect.
The catch was that I couldn’t write about it. The case wasn’t in court yet. All the details of our investigation were confidential.
I came to realize that if I took the basic facts of the case and reset it in the post-war period as fiction, I had an opportunity to write a far richer story: a better whodunit with more distinctive characters and a much more original, revelatory account of the city and its people that I knew so well. This was my chance to write a detailed, unsentimental portrait of the famous, flawed city that I’ve long loved across its many cultures, capturing it at the time when it was the most fraught: after the war and before the supposed “happy days” of the Eisenhower years.
D.C. might be the capital of the free world, but in those days it was also a small, segregated town riddled with casual and institutional racism – a distant mirror, in some meaningful ways, for all of us today.
Rock Creek Park – the geographical and spiritual center of this book – runs south to north on a line that starts a few miles from the White House and ends past the city limits. It’s a vast expanse of beautiful wilderness, then as now a favored haven for locals, and one of the largest urban parks in the world. In the period of this novel, the Park had a dark side: it divided lower class Blacks on its east side from upper class Whites on its west, to the point where Blacks were arrested for straying past its western edge.
And, it had a strange history of being a dumping ground for randomly murdered women.
The present-day mysterious murder of a compelling and enigmatic victim gave me a plot, and the detective on this unlikely fictional case became
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 21, 2018
The first half of this book about a mother and daughter who was killed by her ex-boyfriend was interesting. The second half was a lot of trial testimony, which was mostly repetitive of what we already were told. I would give the first half of the book 5 stars and the second half 2 stars, although if you like that sort of thing it would probably be 5 stars for you.
March 15, 2016
Third time lucky. Not because I did not like the writing but not sure I liked the people. Now I have read more than a hundred pages and what great author Kevin Flynn is.
Update March 15 2016. Finished this morning and what a great book it was. To be honest I searched if the prosecutor really wrote this book and I could not find any co authors so Mister Flynn.."Respect. You have outwritten some of the most wellknown true crime authors of now"
This case is not one with lots of surprises or one where more the suspect is killing many more but it does not matter because the account is written in such a personal matter you can't help to be engaged.
The author took 12 years to write this book so I do not have my hopes set high to find out if he has written any others but if he does I can assure you I will buy it.
Okay I am an idiot. Why did I not realise that Kevin Flynn is the co author of my beloved 102 Minutes
which is one of my most favourite books. He has written quite a lot of books one of those has been on my wish list for a long time and I am going to buy as soon as I can now.
. He also has written
Our Little Secret which I have read plus another book that has been on my wish list for years
Moral of the story: great author.
Update March 15 2016. Finished this morning and what a great book it was. To be honest I searched if the prosecutor really wrote this book and I could not find any co authors so Mister Flynn.."Respect. You have outwritten some of the most wellknown true crime authors of now"
This case is not one with lots of surprises or one where more the suspect is killing many more but it does not matter because the account is written in such a personal matter you can't help to be engaged.
The author took 12 years to write this book so I do not have my hopes set high to find out if he has written any others but if he does I can assure you I will buy it.
Okay I am an idiot. Why did I not realise that Kevin Flynn is the co author of my beloved 102 Minutes
which is one of my most favourite books. He has written quite a lot of books one of those has been on my wish list for a long time and I am going to buy as soon as I can now.
. He also has written
Our Little Secret which I have read plus another book that has been on my wish list for years
Moral of the story: great author.
January 16, 2016
An excellently-written account of a truly hideous, grisly crime. For a change, we get a pretty good sense of who the victims were and a real sense of their places in the world before they were taken. This is not a sympathetic bio of the killer at all, but we get a fair sense of who that guy is, too. The author, who prosecuted the case, describes a truly hair-raising trial in just the right amount of detail, without once bogging down in the kind of details that would only interest a lawyer. You should read this one.
February 13, 2018
Kevin Flynn opens his story with a visit to a Maryland cemetery and the final resting place for the victims of a brutal crime in Washington, D.C. Diane Hawkins and her 13 year-old daughter, Katrina, are at the center of the case. He recited a prayer for the faithful departed at the grave site. He promised to write a book, and 14 years later, this is it. In May of 1993, Diane and Katrina were mutilated, with the daughter’s heart cut out. Naturally, the crime scene was a bloody mess. The bodies were discovered shortly after midnight by Diane’s nephew. Katrina was one of six children ranging from 20 years to 22 months; mom was quite fertile, and she was one of eleven, so it must have been genetic. A surviving son, Reco, told the police that an ex-boyfriend, surprise, surprise, had killed his mother. Norman Harrell was suspect number one. Norm was one of four of Diane’s baby daddy’s. The police interviewed the suspect and he denied any involvement in the deaths. Diane had first become romantically linked with Norman while still in a relationship with another man, one of her kid’s fathers. She must have heard Confucius’ adage, may you live in interesting times. Diane’s closest friend, Deborah, told the cops that Norman claimed to have Jamaican buddies who would cut up and kill anyone for money. The Baltimore P.D. referred to them as “Jakes” in David Simon’s great book, “Homicide.” Flynn viewed a videotape of the funeral service for the victims and was astounded by the exuberance at the African American church, celebrating the passage into the next life with Jesus. In his Roman Catholic experience, the rituals were much more subdued and ritualistic. As a retired R.C. with a Jamaican, born again ex-girlfriend, I can relate. Diane’s ancestors were slaves from North Carolina with mixed blood from their white slave master. She was light skinned with reddish brown hair. Her choices in men were poor and a bakery job was not sufficient to support her six children, but court ordered child support helped. Katrina’s father, Willie was quiet and gentle man, and Diane dumped him for the loud and obnoxious Norman Harrell; nice guys finish last. Norm already had children with other woman and court ordered payments to one of them, Gale Tolson. Nine months later, they married each other. This is a goddamn soap opera. Norm was angry at Diane for an upcoming child support hearing, and it had been scheduled for the day after the murders. Flynn hoped for a slam dunk verdict. Most of his cases were drug related, but this one wasn’t. The overkill indicated a crime of passion. The DNA in Harrell’s truck matched the victims. Harell’s lawyer delayed the trial to July 1994. The phrase if it doesn’t fit, you must acquit is hitting me at this point; touchdown O.J. At the first trial hearing, the defense moved to suppress the blood evidence, as Harrell was not placed under arrest when he was stopped. It was the old “fruit of a poisoned tree” case law. The judge needed to be convinced of probable cause. The legal battle was like a tennis match, and the scales of justice can be quite finicky. Flynn read from Katrina’s autopsy report during his opening statement to the jury. His punch line was, “the heart is absent.” He is a natural storyteller, with a shanachie in his Irish bloodline. His opponent was a black woman who spoke the jurors’ language. Ten of them were African-Americans from the D.C, area. Once again, I see O.J. Michele Roberts opened with a strong, passionate voice, and Flynn was impressed. His organizational skills were evident, as twenty eight witnesses testified in three days. The defense presented Harrell’s wife and it not go well. Robert’s witnesses were weak and Flynn was able to take them apart. The prosecutor is very good at his job. He was touched by the 50+ Hawkins’s family members and friends who prayed with him in a circle, hand-in-hand, for justice. They also prayed for Flynn’s cancer stricken father. Kevin was moved to tears, and so was I. The verdict was a hard fought one and I will leave it to the reader to discover. I hope for more books by the D.A., but, unfortunately, there is another Kevin Flynn, a journalist. A web search on Thrift Books does not separate them.
September 16, 2016
A mother and daughter are brutally murdered one night, and the main suspect is an ex-boyfriend, who had been visiting the home that night. The only known motive is her claim against him for child support, for the son he fathered.
The book is written by the prosecutor of the case, and is at least twice as long as it needs to be to tell the story. Some points are made multiple times, and many other details made are unnecessary. I'm guessing the point is to develop the victims and the prosecutor for the reader, but it just made the book unbelievably long. It finally started to move quickly at the last quarter or so of the book.
I kept waiting for a twist, excitement, or reason for the book, but it never came. The title of relentless pursuit is a bit of a misnomer, it didn't feel relentless and there wasn't any pursuit. Spoiler, they figured it was him immediately, and had brought him in within 2 hours of the murder. Though it took awhile to get to trial, the most suspense was waiting for the verdict.
The book is written by the prosecutor of the case, and is at least twice as long as it needs to be to tell the story. Some points are made multiple times, and many other details made are unnecessary. I'm guessing the point is to develop the victims and the prosecutor for the reader, but it just made the book unbelievably long. It finally started to move quickly at the last quarter or so of the book.
I kept waiting for a twist, excitement, or reason for the book, but it never came. The title of relentless pursuit is a bit of a misnomer, it didn't feel relentless and there wasn't any pursuit. Spoiler, they figured it was him immediately, and had brought him in within 2 hours of the murder. Though it took awhile to get to trial, the most suspense was waiting for the verdict.
July 15, 2017
Since I was very young, I have loved true crime stories. I would actually rate this about 3.5. Kevin Flynn is a federal prosecutor who has written several books about his cases. He is highly skilled at describing the mind- boggling things that humans are capable of doing to each other, as well as describing defendants that present as benign everyday people when they are, in fact, monsters. It is always fascinating to me. This is a story of a man who murdered the mother of his child and another if her young daughters because he didn't want to pay child support. He did so by eviscerating them and removing the child's heart. Yet he presents on the surface as quiet, reserved. It was a difficult case to prove. What I really love about Flynn is his ability to show us a prosecutors thinking as he weaves his case together. He shows you how he decides to question, what to question, and how to tie together hundreds of pieces of evidence. It's amazing to read
April 27, 2015
Pursuit
This was a good story made very interesting by a good author. I enjoy true crimes. I especially liked how the author had a family story of his own to tell and how well it was woven into this crime story. Good read...
This was a good story made very interesting by a good author. I enjoy true crimes. I especially liked how the author had a family story of his own to tell and how well it was woven into this crime story. Good read...
November 22, 2024
The author spends way too much time humbly bragging about how he won the case. To read this book, you would think that he did it with the help of no one, that he acted as police, prosecutor, judge, and jury. It could also be because he fancies himself writing the great American novel instead of a true crime book.
June 22, 2018
Excellent book. This true story is very compelling with the twists and turns throughout, and the dogged pursuit. Very graphic at times, but needs to be to indicate the horrific acts that were committed. The judicial system almost made it impossible to bring the individual to justice.
August 10, 2025
Book started off very interesting. However, it lost steam towards the middle and into the trial. The trial part felt very surface level. Still interesting and very circumstantial case. Wish the author included more of his closing argument since emotion and passion likely played into the verdict.
September 11, 2025
This was a really good book. This is not a book that I would normally pick up, and I’m not even sure how I did, but it was gripping. It isn’t very well told story that brings all of the pieces together.
February 27, 2019
Wow...who would guess that a horrible crime could have such an effect on DA, investigators & those who show up after the crime is committed. Powerful story.
October 11, 2025
Wow what a horrific crime. This book did a good job of bringing Diane and Katrina to light.
December 8, 2011
Well, this is not usually a book I would read (anymore). I say anymore, because I used to enjoy a good thriller by Mary Higgins Clark or something, but I'm a lot more sensitive since I've had kids, so it's been a long time. However, it was one of those things where I picked it up at the library, read the first chapter, and then had to see how it ended. It was also FAR less creepy for me reading it from a prosecuting attorney's perspective, than it would have been reading something from the killer's point of view. It was really rather fascinating how he worked on the case, the gathering of evidence, the questioning, right on down to the trial itself, so I really enjoyed that part of it. It's a little descriptive in parts as to the crime itself, so for that reason I can't rate it any higher for me, but if you like thrillers, or if you fascinatingly watched the OJ Simpson trial (I did during 3 months of morning sickness!) or the Casey Anthony trials (I didn't watch one minute), or if you are in the criminal justice line of work, then you will enjoy this book a lot.
February 26, 2010
I do not particularly like books written in the first person but I will make an exception in this instance. The author, prosecuting a horrible double murder in DC, gives an insider's glimpse into the machinations of the court system as well as the police work involved in bringing the suspect to trial.
The murder is a veritable slaughter of a mother and young daughter and the author pulls no punches in the description of the crime. He has a touching relationship with the large, extended family of the victims and the reader develops a real empathy with them as well. He also describes his own parents' health problems that were unfolding during the trial but not in such a way that detracts from the main narrative.
I don't know if Mr. Flynn has written any other books subsequent to this, his first effort but, if he has, I will search them out and read them. Very well done.
The murder is a veritable slaughter of a mother and young daughter and the author pulls no punches in the description of the crime. He has a touching relationship with the large, extended family of the victims and the reader develops a real empathy with them as well. He also describes his own parents' health problems that were unfolding during the trial but not in such a way that detracts from the main narrative.
I don't know if Mr. Flynn has written any other books subsequent to this, his first effort but, if he has, I will search them out and read them. Very well done.
January 26, 2009
This book was hard to put down. I don't usually like books written in the first person, but this one was a definite exception. Flynn, a prosecuting attorney, weaves an amazing story. He tells things in the order in which he discovered them. I completely agree with the cover of the book - "An aspicious debut...reads like a thriller."
Flynn is given a case of a murdered mother and daughter. And it's not just a murder, these two women were butchered. Gruesome details, a man hunt, amazing testimonies, and edge of your seat excitement is what this book is all about. If you are squeamish, you might not want to read this book. However, if you enjoy a good thriller, you won't want to miss it!
Flynn is given a case of a murdered mother and daughter. And it's not just a murder, these two women were butchered. Gruesome details, a man hunt, amazing testimonies, and edge of your seat excitement is what this book is all about. If you are squeamish, you might not want to read this book. However, if you enjoy a good thriller, you won't want to miss it!
August 28, 2016
I am totally amazed when I read the other reviews! This book is slow and boring - no oomph! Some lawyers can really write, but Mr Flynn isn't one of them!! I'm only finishing it because I want to see what happens. So far, all I'm getting out of this book is that these people ought to be practicing birth control!! They keep producing all these illegitimate kids and are then unable to work which just perpetuates their poverty. What a vicious circle! I should have quit while I was ahead - the book only got worse. 371 pages could have been condensed to 50!!
October 2, 2009
This is an excellent "true crime" book that reads like a novel in most respects. Written by the prosecutor of the case, we learn all about the gruesome killings of a mother and her teenage daughter and the search for the killer. I liked the fact that we're not told who did it until the verdict comes back in the trial. It kept me wondering if they were going to find extra information that would bring about a new suspect.
June 21, 2011
This book is written by a federal prosecuting lawyer. It was well written and very interesting. I enjoy reading about the trial in a true crime case. This book gave me information and insight I had previously not had. If you like true crime and the building of the legal case against a defendant this is a must read.
March 26, 2013
This is a true story told by the prosecutor of a case about the murder of a mother and daughter in Washington, DC. What I liked about it was the author's commitment to the victims and their family. It is apparent that this case from his career as prosecutor struck a chord. The victims were black and it is refreshing to see that their murders were given the attention they deserved.
June 29, 2008
It's hard to believe the author is also a prosecutor. Obviously he has many talents. This book reads like a well-written mystery, except that you know from the start who dunnit. Very entertaining and informative. But then, true crime is pretty much all I read.
March 3, 2010
This book tells the story of a prosecutor's journey to bring convict a man of the brutal murders he committed. The strength of the victims family, and their example for the prosecutor as he faces his own personal challenges at that the same time.
July 11, 2012
Compelling story. The prosecutor takes you right into the courtroom and keeps it interesting throughout the whole book. At the end, after seeing the actual trial and how the evidence was presented, there's no doubt in my mind that the jury reached the correct verdict.
July 12, 2015
I wanted to read this book for a long time - but I had a real problem with it. I am a true crime fanatic and this one just didn't pass muster.
March 12, 2009
True crime about a horrible DC double murder. Very well written by the DA on the case.
December 27, 2011
Well written book about a true story of a mother and daughter who was murdered by an ex boyfriend.
September 12, 2012
A sad tale, despite the success of the prosecution: in the end no one wins.
November 4, 2012
It was a very good read. It was written like a nonfiction, but it had a bit of a fictional story aspect.
February 4, 2015
This was a moving and compassionate portrait of two families --the author's and the Hawkins family as well as the gripping trial of the man accused of murdering two of the Hawkins family members.
January 26, 2016
Written by the prosecutor the book is a very faithful description of a gruesome double murder and the ensuing trial.; interesting, but could have moved a bit faster
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews