Broken Bayou

By: Jennifer Moorhead

Narrated by: Sophie Amoss

In this debut thriller, a troubled child psychologist returns to a small Louisiana town to protect her secrets but winds up having to protect her life.

Dr. Willa Watters is a prominent child psychologist at the height of her career. But when a viral video of a disastrous television interview puts her reputation on the line, Willa retreats to Broken Bayou, the town where she spent most of her childhood summers. There she visits her aunts’ old house and discovers some of her unstable mother’s belongings still languishing in the attic—dusty mementos harboring secrets of her harrowing past.

Willa’s hopes for a respite are quickly crushed, not only by what she finds in that attic but also by what’s been found in the bayou.

With waters dropping due to drought, mysterious barrels containing human remains have surfaced, alongside something else from Willa’s past, something she never thought she’d see again. Divers, police, and media flood the area, including a news reporter gunning for Willa and Travis Arceneaux—a local deputy and old flame.

Willa’s fate seems eerily tied to the murders. And with no one to trust, she must use her wits to stay above water and make it out alive.

©2024 by Jennifer Moorhead. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Sophie Amoss handles the narration of this audio mystery wonderfully.… Amoss stays energetically involved with the plot and characters and handles a range of Southern accents beautifully. She brings drawls and pacing changes to everyone around Willa, especially her mother, whose life is filled with problems. This mystery keeps the listener involved as Amoss guides the story.” —AudioFile Magazine

“The prose here is taut. Suspense and malevolence ooze from every page…An amazing tense debut.” —Midwest Book Review

“An atmospheric debut that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Broken Bayou had me hooked from the first page!” —Ashley Elston, New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins

Not interesting

I did not like this book. I like the narrator in other books but I thought she just didn’t fit the character and it seemed a bit slow.

Surprised until the end

Great character development. The plot was a little wonky but enjoyable enough. I would recommend this book.

broken bayou

oh my, you had the, who done it, so well. thanks for that,usually I have no problem figuring the solution out, but this took me a minute.

Great read

Excellent book. This is a new author for me will definitely be reading more of her books

Moody Mystery Thriller

This is a pretty standard mystery thriller - girl goes back to her hometown, confronts things in her past, old secrets come to light.... but I thought this was done really well. No gratuitous violence/gore/sex. I loved the setting and really thought it added to my enjoyment of the story. While I started to piece things together, there were a few really good red herrings toward the end. This book was very enjoyable, nothing too dark, nothing to cutesy - just right.

edge of my seat

Great story! had me hooked all the way through. Loved the performance and the building of characters.

the story was slow in the beginning but I like how it picked up.

when I first started the book it was hard to keep my attention with all the vagueness but as I went on into the story everything fell into place

Great read

This book was surprisingly good for it being the author's debut thriller/suspense novel. The storyline kept you drawn in and wanting to keep listening.

Compelling story

This story twists and turns in unexpected directions keeping me engaged from the start. The characters seem very human and vulnerable

Incredible plot

I loved how the story was always continuous keeping you at the end of your seat.