Ethan Brown’s “Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?” is a non-fiction piece of investigative journalism that lays out everything Brown found out about a serial murder case in Jennings, LA.
Brown tells readers about the case, going chronologically through the victims, giving them each a dedicated section and fleshing out the real people behind these crimes with interviews and reports from when the crimes happened.
Brown is also able to talk to some of the people accused of committing the crimes, ranging from drug dealers and gangsters to police officers and sheriffs.
Through Brown’s interviews, you get a feel for how interconnected the victims were, both to themselves and to their potential murderers.
The Jeff Davis 8 case is unsolved, with no convictions ever taken place, which leads the book to occasionally come off as inconclusive and speculative.
Brown does an excellent job weaving between laying out the facts and inserting his own opinions, which give the reader something to chew on despite there being no “true” answer.
Overall, “Murder in the Bayou” is fascinating, if occasionally dense, look into a community filled with grief, mistrust and a wish for better days.
Rating: 8/10
