Fear Stalks the Bayou — Juanita Coulson

A Truth hidden deep in the dark…


Eileen Winton travels to sultry New Orleans to comfort her recently widowed friend, Roxane Petry, now mistress of the lavish Hesperus-Seven Oaks. Overwhelmed with grief at the mysterious apparent suicide of her husband, Roxane begs Eileen to stay.

Reluctantly agreeing, Eileen meets Roxane's family. Claire is the dowager grandmother bred in the old Southern style always accompanied by Lucrece, Claire's faithful companion steeped in Creole tradition. Also heavily involved in the affairs of Hesperus-Seven Oaks are Roxane's two brothers-in-law: Dave, the wild and caustic sportsman, and Bart, the financier that holds his emotions close.

As Eileen settles into life at Hesperus-Seven Oaks, she discovers that many forces are at work.

They are trying to control Roxane.

Eileen must intervene to try and help her friend through her grief and stave off those who would take advantage of her at this time.

Nagging at the back of Eileen's mind, however, is the hysterical protest Roxane made at the funeral that her husband Jim did not kill himself. Surrounded by the mysterious voodoo traditions of New Orleans, she begins to suspect that there may have been more to Jim's death than meets the eye.

All the while Eileen's Yankee ways are clashing with the old bred Southern ways that surround Hesperus-Seven Oaks. As she tries to navigate old feuds and protect her friend, will she be able to uncover buried truths?

A Zodiac Gothic: Aries