Murder in the Bayou
Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Bestseller & the Basis for the Hit Showtime Docuseries
Murder in the Bayou is a New York Times bestselling chronicle of a high-stakes investigation into the murders of eight women in a troubled Southern parish that is “part murder case, part corruption exposé, and part Louisiana noir” (New York magazine).
Between 2005 and 2009, the bodies of eight women were discovered in Jennings, Louisiana, a bayou town of 10,000 in the Jefferson Davis parish. The women came to be known as the Jeff Davis 8, and local law enforcement officials were quick to pursue a serial killer theory, stirring a wave of panic across Jennings’ class-divided neighborhoods. The Jeff Davis 8 had been among society’s most vulnerable—impoverished, abused, and mired with mental illness. They engaged in sex work as a means of survival. And their underworld activity frequently occurred at a decrepit motel called the Boudreaux Inn.
As the cases went unsolved, the community began to look inward. Rumors of police corruption and evidence tampering, of collusion between street and shield, cast the serial killer theory into doubt. But what was really going on in the humid rooms of the Boudreaux Inn? Why were crimes going unsolved and police officers being indicted? What had the eight women known? And could anything be done do stop the bloodshed?
Mixing muckraking research and immersive journalism over the course of a five-year investigation, Ethan Brown reviewed thousands of pages of previously unseen homicide files to posit what happened during each woman’s final hours delivering a true crime tale that is “mesmerizing” (Rolling Stone) and “explosive” (Huffington Post). “Brown is a man on a mission...he gives the victims more respectful attention than they probably got in real life” (The New York Times). “A must-read for true-crime fans” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), with a new afterword, Murder in the Bayou is the story of an American town buckling under the dark forces of poverty, race, and class division—and a lightning rod for justice for the daughters it lost.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Between 2005 and 2009, the bodies of eight women were found in the bayous surrounding the small town of Jennings, Louisiana. Serial killer, right? Honestly, the story that eventually emerged was both more mundane and way more disturbing. In Murder in the Bayou, investigative journalist Ethan Brown gives us a page-turning deep dive into these brutal murders and the subsequent investigations, exposing the dark truths behind the headlines. Despite the grim subject matter, this is a fascinating read—Brown’s compelling storytelling brings us right into these women’s desperate lives and their broken, worn-down surroundings. This is a must-read for true-crime fans and anyone whose interest was piqued by the miniseries based on this book.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Brown (Shake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder that Rocked New Orleans) has crafted a gripping narrative that will revive curiosity about eight unsolved murders that had at one time been front-page news in the New York Times. Between 2005 and 2009, eight women, all sex workers, were found murdered in Louisiana's Jefferson Davis Parish, most of their bodies too decomposed to determine the cause of death. Brown makes a convincing case that Loretta Chaisson and the other seven women were not the prey of a serial killer; instead, he asserts, the victims, who were all snitches about the local drug trade, were killed because they knew too much. The first sign that there was something amiss with the official inquiry was a counterintuitive one. After the corpse of 28-year-old Chaisson was recovered from the Grand Marais Canal, her husband wondered why he was never considered a suspect. Her friends and family were also unsettled by deputy sheriff Terrie Guillory's visit to her home before the discovery of Chaisson's body; he stated that she was believed by the authorities to be missing, even though no one close to her had reported concerns to the police or sheriff's office. Brown's spare but effective prose and measured analysis of the evidence makes this a must-read for true-crime fans.
