Murder in the Bayou

I don't know how to feel about this book.

The Jeff Davis 8 refers to the cold cases of eight murdered women. Every single murdered woman knew at least one of the other women who were murdered. They frequented the same bars and hotels, hung around many of the same people, all struggled with drug addiction, and they were all sex workers. But what I don't understand is how or why they were all killed in similar manners, yet no one has been charged with their murders in the last 16 years.

This book honestly was infuriating to read.

The first several chapters are just leading up to the murders, pretty much building backstories for some of the suspects. The chapters written specifically for the murdered women were probably the best written chapters. It went into their history, their families, what they saw, and their informant work with the police. But what really frustrated me was that the first half of the book was detailing the shady police department, but then author Ethan Brown goes on to say he doesn't believe the police were involved. The book continues on the murder trail and still no definite suspects. The last few chapters of the book are especially annoying to read. Ethan Brown goes on to defend himself against the Jeff Davis Parish Police.

I was expecting facts, instead I got a shoddy mix of conjecture and gossip from locals who agreed to be interviewed for Brown's research. It wasn't the best work of nonfiction by any means, but it did open the door for me to research the Jeff Davis 8 Murders on my own.

I actually look up recent articles to see if there has been any breaks in the case since the release of Murder in the Bayou in 2016. The most significant information I found was that Frankie Richards, a longtime suspect, and confidante of many of the victims, passed away in 2020. The Coroner's office stated Frankie was suffering from a form of pulmonary disease, and likely died of natural causes.....which means no autopsy would be performed. However, police told his family he died of a tainted heroin overdose. Could this department still be trying to cover their tracks?