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A review by alyshadeshae
Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8? by Ethan Brown
5.0
This is definitely not my usual type of book. For starters, it's non-fiction; I like my reading to be an escape, but this came highly recommended and I'm glad I made the exception. It's also a crime book and, while I enjoy a good crime thriller, they pale in comparison to fantasy and sci-fi books for me.
Being from Louisiana, I vaguely recall these murders being in the news. Not much, because I avoid the news as a general rule, but enough that I remember getting a new pepper-spray because of it. I also remember gun shopping, but opting at the time not to get a handgun because I wasn't yet comfortable enough with guns. (Now I have and love my Sig!)
I will again repeat my first comment about maybe skipping the "key figures" part at the beginning unless you are not familiar with Louisiana name pronunciation; it really did just make things more confusing for me. I will also say that, while I learned a lot about the general case, I also am not interested in reading more about it or about other cases. While this might be the opposite effect that the writer was going for (I would imagine that all nonfiction authors want to inspire you to read more about their topic with their own works), it really did show me that true crime (is that what this is considered? I don't even know!) is not something I want to regularly read. I had nightmares all last night because of my overactive imagination. :-(
Considering that all of my knowledge about the case comes from this book (I know, I should have more sources to make an actual informed decision), I do feel that Jennings should probably do what Sorrento has done and get rid of their police department entirely. However, it sounds like the corruption might extend to other departments outside of the town. I'm not sure. I just don't see how a department so horribly run could not have been voted out of existence! Regardless, this sort of widespread corruption is what leads to the public distrusting law enforcement officers.
If you enjoy true crime type books, historical(-ish) books, or books about your home state, you will probably enjoy this book and I do highly recommend it. It was fascinating, informative, and worth the time. :-)
Being from Louisiana, I vaguely recall these murders being in the news. Not much, because I avoid the news as a general rule, but enough that I remember getting a new pepper-spray because of it. I also remember gun shopping, but opting at the time not to get a handgun because I wasn't yet comfortable enough with guns. (Now I have and love my Sig!)
I will again repeat my first comment about maybe skipping the "key figures" part at the beginning unless you are not familiar with Louisiana name pronunciation; it really did just make things more confusing for me. I will also say that, while I learned a lot about the general case, I also am not interested in reading more about it or about other cases. While this might be the opposite effect that the writer was going for (I would imagine that all nonfiction authors want to inspire you to read more about their topic with their own works), it really did show me that true crime (is that what this is considered? I don't even know!) is not something I want to regularly read. I had nightmares all last night because of my overactive imagination. :-(
Considering that all of my knowledge about the case comes from this book (I know, I should have more sources to make an actual informed decision), I do feel that Jennings should probably do what Sorrento has done and get rid of their police department entirely. However, it sounds like the corruption might extend to other departments outside of the town. I'm not sure. I just don't see how a department so horribly run could not have been voted out of existence! Regardless, this sort of widespread corruption is what leads to the public distrusting law enforcement officers.
If you enjoy true crime type books, historical(-ish) books, or books about your home state, you will probably enjoy this book and I do highly recommend it. It was fascinating, informative, and worth the time. :-)