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Killing the Rougarou
On Friday the thirteenth of October, a five-year-old girl named James meets a monster at the Shreveport Holiday Inn. Now, there are those in southern Louisiana who believe in the legend of the rougarou a werewolf that prowls the bayou. Others think the monster is nothing more than a Cajun tall tale. The Gauthier family, though, knows true evil exists. Matthew Gauthier, his wife, and their four kids are a family built on love and pride, but their shared happiness is shattered that terrible Friday in October after attending the Louisiana State Fair. They move on in the aftermath, even James, who grows into a great beauty is always fearful of what hides in the night.
It is James loveliness that initially attracts rural Texas boy Charles Cat Thomas when they meet years later. It is her fragile nature reminding him of his own tragic family history that makes Cat want to protect this shy, secretive, young woman. Loving James comes at a terrible price, though, because the rougarou is still out there watching.
It is James loveliness that initially attracts rural Texas boy Charles Cat Thomas when they meet years later. It is her fragile nature reminding him of his own tragic family history that makes Cat want to protect this shy, secretive, young woman. Loving James comes at a terrible price, though, because the rougarou is still out there watching.
502 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2018
8 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 7, 2020
When I saw the title of this book, I was immediately intrigued. I grew up in Southern Louisiana (a good Cajun girl at heart!) and I know the stories of the Rougarou. When I saw the author was also from South Louisiana, I knew I had to read this one.
It's a big book - at almost 500 pages it is a little intimating (and literally HEAVY) to pick up. You don't typically expect a thriller to be this long.
Comparatively, my review is going to be shorter. I think there was a LOT of detail into the characters. The flow of the story was really unique. You would jump forward to an event then jump WAY back and get all the details on the characters involved in that event and how they came to be, how they met, etc etc before finally coming back around to the event and then what happens after.
The cover of the book calls this a "romantic thriller" - and there was definitely a decent amount of romance. And by romance I mean explicit sexual descriptions. So it gets a little hot and steamy (not a bad thing!) along the way.
You can tell the author loves her southern Louisiana heritage and that is what I personally loved about the book. It was very nostalgic for me. I moved away from Louisiana 20 years ago. I still go home somewhat regularly as most of my family is still there, but it was nice to relive the language, culture, traditions and myths of that area.
Despite it's length, I read the book pretty much in one day. It's not a book for everyone, but I do believe it is a book for people like me. People who can appreciate the culture and the references, who like a multi-generational family story and who don't mind a little down and dirty sex. :)
I was about half way through when I had already figured out who I knew that would enjoy this book and I am dropping it in the mail this week!
It's a big book - at almost 500 pages it is a little intimating (and literally HEAVY) to pick up. You don't typically expect a thriller to be this long.
Comparatively, my review is going to be shorter. I think there was a LOT of detail into the characters. The flow of the story was really unique. You would jump forward to an event then jump WAY back and get all the details on the characters involved in that event and how they came to be, how they met, etc etc before finally coming back around to the event and then what happens after.
The cover of the book calls this a "romantic thriller" - and there was definitely a decent amount of romance. And by romance I mean explicit sexual descriptions. So it gets a little hot and steamy (not a bad thing!) along the way.
You can tell the author loves her southern Louisiana heritage and that is what I personally loved about the book. It was very nostalgic for me. I moved away from Louisiana 20 years ago. I still go home somewhat regularly as most of my family is still there, but it was nice to relive the language, culture, traditions and myths of that area.
Despite it's length, I read the book pretty much in one day. It's not a book for everyone, but I do believe it is a book for people like me. People who can appreciate the culture and the references, who like a multi-generational family story and who don't mind a little down and dirty sex. :)
I was about half way through when I had already figured out who I knew that would enjoy this book and I am dropping it in the mail this week!
November 21, 2018
Excellent book, excellent writing! A few flaws: gratuitous sex that distracts the reader and is a bit too verbose. Could have been 100 pages shorter and the story veered into Harlequin-esque story. STILL, I look forward to reading more!
January 4, 2019
The family you're introduced to, you really get to know intimately. Honestly I usually don't remember character names after I finish a book. (Probably too many books/characters floating around in my head!) But I can tell you all about Matthew, Tally, Jessie (and her parents), Deux, Remy, Luke, James, Cat (and his parents), Leah... (Who did I miss?? lol) And the Rougarou... so creepy. *shudders*
I loved the Cajun roots & I am definitely thankful Shawn M. Beasley included how to pronounce certain words!
Overall, it probably could have been a shorter book, but I feel like the introduction to the family has peaked my curiosity for book 2. :)
...
Language: Yes
Sex: Yes
Rape/Violence: Yes- not in too graphic terms, but yes. There is sexual abuse in this book to children as well as attempted rape of an adult. Not in graphic descriptions, but it is there.
I loved the Cajun roots & I am definitely thankful Shawn M. Beasley included how to pronounce certain words!
Overall, it probably could have been a shorter book, but I feel like the introduction to the family has peaked my curiosity for book 2. :)
...
Language: Yes
Sex: Yes
Rape/Violence: Yes- not in too graphic terms, but yes. There is sexual abuse in this book to children as well as attempted rape of an adult. Not in graphic descriptions, but it is there.
November 3, 2018
Loved it!!
June 18, 2023
Wow loved it. So engrossed by this tragic and beautiful tale.
January 5, 2023
This book was a lot of things - I frequently found myself saying “what in the world” out loud and felt like I had whiplash through most of the chapters. The author will jump from present time, to future, to past, and back again in the same chapter which I found hard to keep up and took away from what they were trying to explain. I also felt that character development lacked and I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, absolutely hating who was meant to be the main character. I also felt scenes were rushed and shoved in without much purpose for being there.
This book was also extremely triggering with frequent child sexual abuse, which just felt gross and painful to read.
I really tried to finish to see if the book got better but the more I read, the worse I felt.
This book was also extremely triggering with frequent child sexual abuse, which just felt gross and painful to read.
I really tried to finish to see if the book got better but the more I read, the worse I felt.
August 15, 2025
This book was so long. It might have been better if the 3 parts were broken into 3 separate books. All of the main characters have an extensive back stories which made it hard to get attached to any of the characters. The only interesting part of the book was the rougarou and his part in the book is very short. All of the men in this book are walking red flags which made it hard to care about any of the love stories. There were also so many miscommunication tropes happening. I wanted this book to be good but it turned out to be long and uninteresting.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews