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A review by nattycran
Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8? by Ethan Brown
4.0
I picked this book up in the Faulkner Bookstore near Jackson Square while visiting my sister who goes to Tulane. I've long been a fan of true crime in general and ate up True Detective weekly like it was my religion.
Needless to say, I was deeply interested by Murder in the Bayou. Brown does an excellent job explaining the culture of Jennings, Louisiana and the struggle with drugs and poverty in the community.
What made Murder in the Bayou so gripping was that any of the eight victims in Jeff Davis Parish could be your neighbor. They are such normal American women who are down on their luck and not receiving the healthcare that they obviously deserve. It is, truly, a testament to human compassion.
On the other hand there is the intrigue of these horrible political/community figures who play good Christians in the streets but pay for all kinds of escapes between the sheets. Pimping and lying are the main interests of half the men discussed in this book.
Reading this in 2017, I was so moved by the whistleblowers in the book. Normal people who are standing up for disenfranchised women. In all the darkness of this book there are little bits of light that are compelling enough to spurn the readers own investigations.
I wish there was a map in the book of Jennings. I wish there were family trees for the seemingly never ending familial connections.
Mostly I wish that there was an answer and some justice for the Jeff David Eight. These women deserved better. Ending this book without someone serving life in prison for homicide is a hard pill to swallow--surely for Ethan Brown more so than the reader.
I am so genuinely pleased that I picked this book up and I look forward to following the investigations in Jennings in the future.
Needless to say, I was deeply interested by Murder in the Bayou. Brown does an excellent job explaining the culture of Jennings, Louisiana and the struggle with drugs and poverty in the community.
What made Murder in the Bayou so gripping was that any of the eight victims in Jeff Davis Parish could be your neighbor. They are such normal American women who are down on their luck and not receiving the healthcare that they obviously deserve. It is, truly, a testament to human compassion.
On the other hand there is the intrigue of these horrible political/community figures who play good Christians in the streets but pay for all kinds of escapes between the sheets. Pimping and lying are the main interests of half the men discussed in this book.
Reading this in 2017, I was so moved by the whistleblowers in the book. Normal people who are standing up for disenfranchised women. In all the darkness of this book there are little bits of light that are compelling enough to spurn the readers own investigations.
I wish there was a map in the book of Jennings. I wish there were family trees for the seemingly never ending familial connections.
Mostly I wish that there was an answer and some justice for the Jeff David Eight. These women deserved better. Ending this book without someone serving life in prison for homicide is a hard pill to swallow--surely for Ethan Brown more so than the reader.
I am so genuinely pleased that I picked this book up and I look forward to following the investigations in Jennings in the future.