Wow, what a great debut! It was compelling from the first page, I honestly couldn’t put it down.

I’m a sucker for a serial murderer! Throw in an atmospheric South Louisiana setting, interesting and flawed characters, clever twists and turns and we have a winner. Just when I thought I knew who the culprit was, I was proved wrong and surprised.

The audiobook narrated by Sophie Amoss was wonderful and so entertaining. Can highly recommend this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for an ALC

Published by Brilliance Audio in July of 2024.
Read by Sophie Amoss
Duration: 10 hours, 18 minutes.
Unabridged.

My Synopsis

Broken Bayou features Dr. Willa Waters, a child psychologist with a very popular podcast who lives in Texas. After a disastrous local television interview goes viral, Waters runs to Broken Bayou, Louisiana. This is where her two great aunts lived in a mansion on the edge of town.

When she arrives in town, there is an uproar because a body has been found in the bayou and then a young schoolteacher and her car went missing. But, some of the locals still remember her because Waters spent most of her childhood summers in Broken Bayou with her great aunts. Waters and her little sister would be brought to town by her mother. All three of them would move in and her mother would spend the summer having a good time with the locals.

In many ways, her great aunts were the closest thing to proper parents that Waters and her sister had. Her great aunts passed away within hours of one another and they have given the house to the local historical society. Waters says that she is in town to go through some things, but really she is looking for one thing - one very specific thing from a horrible night - the last night they ever stayed in Broken Bayou...
My Review

This book is steeped in Southern Gothic vibes. There is a brooding mood from one end to the other. The murder mystery aspect was quite good, but I found Dr. Waters' behavior to be amazingly, frustratingly, and all too conveniently self-sabotaging. This very educated woman couldn't seem to grasp the concept of taking the stuff she wanted and going to some other town (any other town) with it until it becomes too late.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

3.75 stars I thought this book was great. I love a good story where the main character returns to a place and is forced to confront their past. I was engaged in the story the entire time. Though I was not a huge fan of the reveal at the end I do think it made sense and tied everything together.

This book was brilliant! I don't know what I was expecting but it sure wasn't a wild ride! The plot was totally unhinged and you never quite know who did what, when they did it or if they even did do it.

Willa has to return to the home of her aunts die and there is evidence in their attic that needs to be collected to protect her mother. Her mother has severe mental health issues and the only time Willa and her sister had a semi normal life was summer when they were at the aunts house.

Will is a now a child psychologist and after a disasterous interview on tv, she is eager to get out of the lime light. Problem is she returning to a place with a serial killer who puts women in barrels and they find something in the lake that Willa hoped would never come back out. The more she dogs, the more danger she is in and she does not know who to trust.

It was such a thrilling book! The narration was epic and I was on the edge of my seat!!

4.5 stars!! AMAZING BOOK

Wonderfully narrated!

Willa is now a great child psychologist, but an interview turned into a viral video, and there seems to be little to hold on to. Her past is calling her back to Broken Bayou for closure, though this feels more like an uprooting rather than a wind-up. Random barrels are being excavated from the water and with that, the shreds that tie Will to this murky place are also strengthening. Coming here was a mistake, the only choice in hand is to survive this series of killings and mysteries and stay afloat.

I was listening to an audiobook of this mystery thriller book. Initially, I was hooked by the plotline, although the confusion and unhinging plot twists are what kept me going. The narrators went surfing through the story, exchanging points of view in between & yet everything made sense as the baton of the suspect passed from one to another. I have enjoyed a thriller after a long time with almost nothing to complain about (except the narrow-minded residents of that town).

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Psychological thriller
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

Thank you @netgalley @brilliancepublishing & @jen_moorhead for the ALC.

Broken Bayou by Jennifer Moorhead is a debut thriller, narrated by Sophie Amoss. I loved the Louisiana small-town setting and despite having downloaded the ebook; I welcomed an ARC of the audiobook. Suspenseful and atmospheric, you’ll want to grab a sweet tea and listen to this one!

This title was a June First Read selection with my prime membership and the synopsis and setting intrigued me. When I came across it on NetGalley, I decided to listen. I am so glad that I did. Sophie Amoss brought this atmospheric thriller to life. I found myself on edge and events unfolded and secrets from the past were revealed.

Dr. Willa Watters is a prominent child psychologist at the height of her career, when two things happen. First, she receives a letter from her aunt’s estate about items that belong to her mother that will need to be retrieved. Then, a television interview goes sideways when Dr. Watters has a meltdown and it goes viral. Unable to handle the humiliation of the video, she drives to Broken Bayou, Louisiana, to go through the contents in the attic.

When Willa arrives, she discovers that the town has a serial killer, as drums containing bodies surface, thanks to a prolonged drought. The bayou contains secrets, some Dr. Willa Watters doesn’t want found. The tale that unfolds was dark, suspenseful and filled with twists that held me in its thrall.

Perfectly paced, the author took us back to those summers spent in Broken Bayou with Willa’s aunts, mother and sister and to the dark things Willa has tried so hard to forget. But a shocking discovery in the attic may change everything Willa thought she knew.

I loved the mysteries wrapped in this, from the current events of a missing woman, to the barrels spanning decades and the current danger Willa faces. I loved the unknowing and the grip the suspense had on me. A must listen for fans of thrillers, mysteries and well drawn out stories that keep you up past your bedtime.

Sophie Amoss narrates and enhances this well-written tale, drawing on the suspense and colorful southern characters. I highly recommend listening. I’ll be watching for Jennifer Moorhead’s next novel.

Broken Bayou, while not awful, is just one of the many mystery/thrillers out there on the market right now. Nothing about it set it apart from the rest, and for that, I'm giving it 2/5 stars.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC of this book!
This book had everything I was looking for. Fast paced, great character development and the plot was well executed. The books plot was original and engaging and had great dialogue.
This book blew any expectation I had out of the water. I will be following the author for future books.

Can you go home again and what will you find.?

WIlla ends up back where she spent many summers after her work life implodes and finds herself as a person of interest when bodies start surfacing in the lake. I didn't really like Willa, but that isn't a deal breaker for me in a thriller. She was always psychoanalyzing everyone. This isn't your normal crime novel, because Willa is the central character and she is neither investigating the murders nor does it seem like she is involved.

The setting and the characters were deep and well described and I was interested in seeing how this one played out.

Sophie Amoss did a good job bringing this slow burn atmospheric mystery to life. Her voice fit with Willa and she kept me engaged in the slow unraveling, which is not always a given for me on a slow burn.

Note to Self:  Don't move anywhere named Broken Bayou.

Dr Willa Watters is a psychologist specializing in children. She is promoting her new book when she ends up having a breakdown on a local morning news program. Since it is a small local station, it shouldn't been too bad, right? Except thanks to things like YouTube, it seems everyone has watched  Willa's breakdown, including ripping off her blouse along with the microphone wires.

It is possible that her breakdown had something do to with her own childhood trauma that she needs to face down in Broken Bayou. Since she now needs to keep a low profile, this is the perfect time to deal with her Aunts' estates and the things Willa's mother left hidden in their attic.

But even though it has been years since Willa, her sister and her mother used to visit their Aunts in Broken Bayou, small towns never seem to forget you. But small towns do love their gossip and once word of Willa's arrival spreads, so does the video of her recent TV appearance, and there is whispering wherever she goes.

One face Willa is happy to see is her former summer flame and local juvenile delinquent, Travis Arceneaux, who is now part of the local police force.

There is one thing that does take the focus off of Willa's problems.  It seems Broken Bayou is experiencing a long, hot summer including a severe draught in the area and as the level of the bayou drops, things that have been long hidden are now coming to light, including barrels containing human remains...and the car that Willa's mother made then 15-year-old Willa get rid of one night.

All Willa wants to do is leave Broken Bayou in her rearview, but with questions about the car, the police don't want her to leave, but with a possible serial killer on the loose, she can only hope she can stay safe before the killer strikes again.

THOUGHTS:
Broken Bayou makes me glad I don't know anything about small town life. It feels like these towns are full of abusive family relationships which are detrimental to the children involved. First, Willa's mother is a narcissist, flitting from one relationship to another and never holding a steady job. Summers with her Aunts in Broken Bayou is as close to a stable home life as Will and her younger sister ever had. We also find out that Travis's parents were pretty abusive to him and his siblings. This is just not somewhere you want to grow up.

The chapters only jump back and forth from the past to the present with regard to the serial killer but we learn about Willa's past through her memories and in her conversations with her mother who is now sick and in a nursing home.


Although there were some scenes which were unnecessary or dragged out a bit too long, especially at the beginning, I think the pacing of this mystery was good and it kept you guessing until the very end when all the pieces finally clicked together.

This audiobook is packed full of spine-tingling tension!! This psychological and creepy thriller this follows Dr. Willa Watters, a child psychologist, who has returned to her childhood home in the bayou of Louisiana. While home sorting through the belongings of her aunt, water levels fall revealing barrels with human remains inside. Something else from Willa's past is also discovered in the bayou potentially connecting her to the murders. Willa partners with her former boyfriend and now policeman, Travis, to get to the bottom of these murders bringing her closer to danger as the killer gets increasingly desperate from being caught.

I love southern thrillers with creepy atmospheric settings, and this one delivered! Additionally, the author did a great job at planting seeds of doubt for all major characters, including Willa's POV and memories. I was hooked from the beginning, and could not wait to see how the plotlines would intersect. This book also includes some real heart pounding danger, making it a true thriller! I can't believe this is a debut and look forward to more novels from this author.

Thank you to Books Forward PR for my complimentary audiobook copy!

This narrator did a great job of bringing this story to life.

Child Psychologist Dr. Willa Walters is back in Broken Bayou, where she used to spend summers visiting her aunts. This time she is returning to lick her wounds after a bad interview puts her reputation and job on the line.

She knows her visit could bring back memories that she’d like to keep buried, but she still feels the need to visit the home of her now-deceased aunts. But she has baggage in that small town that she will most likely have to deal with.

Though the main character didn’t always feel like the professional I’d hoped for, she didn’t spoil the book in any way. Hopefully, if these books continue, she will grow on me.

This debut author had the right amount of description, and though the plot wasn’t completely original, she offered some nice twists that brought the rating up.

This is a book you won’t want to overlook.

I made it to 50% of this book and I just could not continue, it dragged for me. I could not fully get into. I was uninterested, I did not like the main character and I found it to be overly descriptive which was too much for me. I can see why people love it, but it was just not for me.

I cannot wait for more books by this author. I love this style of thriller. It reminded me a bit of Midnight is the Darkest Hour and books by Jess Lourey.

I loved the swamp town setting - it adds an extra level of creepiness and you KNOW those swamps hold onto secrets.

There was a well balanced amount of intrigue and suspense throughout the entirety of the book which is tricky with thrillers. Of course there is a big crescendo at the end but my interest was held throughout the story. I just wanted to know what the big secret was that they were keeping! There were almost two stories running side by side so I think that's why it was easy to stay invested.

This one felt more plot driven than character driven at first and then it switched it up. So that was fun. I sort of guessed one of the twists but that didn't make it any less enjoyable for me.

I enjoyed the narration and listened around 2x for most of the story. She has a great voice for suspense books.

“Broken Bayou” was a surprise gem for me as I am not one to usually listen to this genre of thrillers. But I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed the listen, and I found the story to be quite suspenseful with several thrills along the way which I did not see coming. The story was quite will written for a premiere piece; it was written by Jennifer Moorhead. The audiobook’s narration was professional and polished, it was performed by Sophie Amoss. She currently has over two hundred narrations on Audible at the time of this review. The story’s opening provided a great hook that draws the listener in and does not release its grip until the end. It is one of those audiobooks that you want to listen to while on a long trip. This way you can devote ample time to just sit and enjoy. If you like your thrillers with twists and turns, I think you will enjoy giving this one a listen. It is the first work by both the author and narrator which I have had the pleasure reviewing.

As I began to become comfortable with the audiobook, I fell into what felt like a movie or TV show as I closed my eyes. The writing a descriptive and colorful, even for a rather dank locations often found within the bayous of Louisiana. I could easily imagine the story being made into a thriller on the big screen on TV and people would embrace the story. A few times I would have preferred to have some less descriptive narrative, this allows me to construct parts of the story and make it memorable in my own imagination. I understand this is a very subjective matter for a review. But I can say that for her first work on Audible, it felt believable and rather realistic with the characters and their actions. One thing that was a turnoff for me while listening was the many references to social media terms or emojis such as “hashtag”, TIM, etc. I may be old-school, but I would have rather had these text-speak phrases expanded to their real words and/or not put in the tagging idea.

The story really hit home just how difficult growing up can be, and even worse for those in a small town in the bayou. What is often worse is coming back to your old stomping grounds and trying to solve a mystery that you do not recall being a part of. Also, we see that being raised by a single parent with her own emotional issues, often greatly impact those in the rest of the family. We see both the joy and pain of current and past relationships along with getting to know how others saw you when you were young. Not everything, or everyone, is what it might have seemed on the face of things. What is real and what is simply past trauma needing to be dealt with. Here we see that past choices come with long-term consequences. All this mess is like a ball of twine that begins to unwind as the story is told. The juxtaposition is that our main character having all these issues growing up seeks a career as a psychologist. I found myself enjoying the many flashbacks and getting to know the characters as the story progressed. Again, most characters felt real in their actions and motivations. Such is often a sign of good writing and thought-out ideas. I also realized that the use of the word ‘broken’ in its name has more than one meaning, rather interesting.

The audiobook’s narration by Sophie Amoss was flawless and the audio itself was without issue. I do not recall any audio artifacts such as pops, clicks, or background noise. Being that she is a veteran of the trade, I was not surprised by the high-quality production and voicing of the characters. Her voice is smooth but can contain an edge when needed. I felt very comfortable sitting and listening to her narrate. She is a narrator that I would be happy to listen to more of her work.

A note to parents and younger listeners, the audiobook does contain profanity, alcohol use, and some rather strong mature subject matter involving family issue, etc. I would not recommend it for younger audiences.

In summary, “Broken Bayou” was a solid piece of writing along with great narration. There was a fine blending of times containing light-hearted moments, and these helped to offset the heaviness the overall story covered and the mystery which surrounded the location. I rather enjoyed listening and wonder what this newer author on the block has baking for a future release.

This was a great debut thriller set in a small town in Louisiana. Dr. Willa Watters returns back to her home
to retrieve some belongings from her aunt's home, who passed away recently. Lots happens while she is back with a serial killer on the loose and her past catches up with her. There are lots of mysteries and I didn't who was the villan and it kept me guessing. The writer does a good job with giving the creepy vibes with the bayou setting.

Sophie Amoss did a perfect job with the narration. Thank you @booksforwardpr for a copy of the audiobook.

Thanks, Brilliance Audio and the author, for the advanced listening copy of the book via NetGalley. (Available 1 Jul 2024)

I enjoyed this debut thriller so much that I read it twice! The first was an e-book (Amazon offered it as one of June’s Kindle First Books), and the second was an audiobook (my preferred way to read thrillers). I’m happy to report that I loved it! We chose it for our July Book Club read since we couldn’t pass up the Louisiana setting and were all impressed with the writing.

“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, where she spent most of her childhood summers.” Once there, her embarrassment is overshadowed by the dead bodies in barrels being discovered in the bayou. Is there a serial killer in this quiet southern town?

I was riveted and entertained by this murder mystery with a Southern spin. I liked Willa’s character and wanted her to succeed (especially since she didn’t make as many dumb decisions as usual in thrillers). The dialog flowed nicely, the pace was perfect, and I TOTALLY fell for one of the red herrings. Aces!

I can’t wait to read whatever Jen writes next. She did a fantastic job capturing the feel of my adopted home. In addition, my hat is off to the audiobook narrator, who correctly pronounced all the towns and surnames! (e.g., Arceneaux. Boudreaux, Fonteneau, Houma, Bordelon)

I like thrillers that aren’t formulaic and, even if they do embrace tropes, they do something with them that I haven’t really encountered before. That was not how things worked out in Broken Bayou. The story was pretty standard, following old, familiar patterns that failed to excite me.

No one can accuse this author of bland imagery, though. She clearly put a lot of thought into her descriptions, making it very easy to visualize each specific detail. I did think it was a bit overdone at times, but I appreciated the overall effort.

Moorhead included a lot of mental illness, developmental disorders, and neurological disabilities. Not only did I feel she went overboard with this, but the character she assigned each condition to basically became that condition. Their development was clinical and one dimensional. I do think she wanted to be sensitive, but I didn’t feel she went beyond a textbook study of how any of this should look in an actual human being.

I found the mystery too easy to solve. I identified the killer early on, and became increasingly annoyed with the attempts at misdirection. Speaking of this, when an author repeatedly tries to make the reader think someone else might be the bad guy, the author then eliminates that person as a suspect. With such a limited cast of characters, and an even smaller suspect pool since the killer’s gender is clear, I think it would have been wiser to make everyone look suspicious instead of focusing on one red herring. I imagine seasoned thriller readers will be able to pick up on what’s being concealed with ease. Despite this, Moorhead l did manage to maintain suspense, and I was invested enough to keep going so I’d know if my theory was correct.

There was another reveal, apart from the main mystery, that surfaced late in the story. I also saw this one coming a mile away. I’m sure this was, in part, because the same thing happened in another thriller I read recently, and it was obscured in a very similar way throughout the text. But it is also a part of that formulaic approach I previously mentioned. Executed well, I think it can be jaw dropping, but I’d still prefer to encounter more unique twists.

People make some truly ludicrous decisions in Broken Bayou, and the climax’s tension is contingent upon those decisions. The author clearly recognized the absurdity of it all, as she addresses applicable “What ifs?” before the novel ends, but I think not having characters do such irrational things in the first place would have been far more effective. There are other methods that can be used to create tension.

The final chapter, which is, for all intents and purposes, a prologue, wraps everything up with protracted explanations. The author again aimed to surprise the reader here with a hint of suspense, but it was another easy to identify revelation. I was quite ready for this story to be over at this point, so all of this aggravated me a lot.

Moorhead tried. I know she did, and I promise you that I feel bad for not liking her debut. I really wanted to rationalize three stars, but that just wasn’t my experience with it. I truly do think it will work a lot better for individuals who are newer to this particular genre.

I am immensely grateful to Brilliance Audio, Books Forward, and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

This isn't bad for a debut. Really more of a 3.5. Broken Bayou was easy to get lost in, and I really enjoyed the narrator which made this a pretty quick listen.

I will say that for me, I didn't like the main character all that much. For who she was professionally and who she was personally...I suppose I expected different behaviors but not THAT different. It didn't vibe for me. I also knew where this was going and who the killer would be. Despite all that, the story wasn't bad and I did enjoy how it played out. I would definitely pick up another book by this author.

Overall, I enjoyed the audiobook in it's entirety and would recommend this for fans of the genre. Thank you to Books Forward for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

Broken Bayou is full ofheart pounding suspense to the last page. The rich setting and character development hook you early on and keep you guessing! It is a well written debut by Jennifer Moorhead, and I can't wait to see what she writes next!