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Bayou #6
Body of Evidence
Emma Lachance is taken by surprise when she runs into her friend and high-school crush, Finn Duhon, on a construction site in Pointe Judah, Louisiana. But the last thing she expects to find is the corpse of her friend, a local journalist whose relentlessly scathing articles have enraged every lawmaker and opportunist in town, including the mayor - Emma's husband.
When more bodies are found, Emma and Finn wonder if the link is Secrets, an eclectic support group for women in which all the murder victims were members. A group that has helped Emma find the strength to divorce her abusive, unfaithful husband.
Could an innocent women's club drive a furious husband or boyfriend to murder, or are the killings only make to look as if that's the connection? Emma and Finn intend to find out - before Emma becomes the next body of evidence....
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2006
50 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
About the author
Stella Cameron
106 books420 followersStella Cameron is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author. With over fourteen million copies of her books in print, Cameron is now turning her pen to mysteries and independently publishing COLD, Introducing Alex Duggins. She draws on her English background for this new, already critically acclaimed mystery series. Atmospheric, deeply character and relationship driven, COLD reveals the power of old secrets to twist the present. Cameron’s reputation for using her backgrounds to add tension and allure to her stories is heightened again.
Cameron is the recipient of the Pacific Northwest Achievement Award for distinguished professional achievement and for enhancing the stature of the Northwest Literary community. She lives in Washington with her husband Jerry, her Papillon Millie, black cat Zipper, and a cheeky little tabby named Jack.
Cameron is the recipient of the Pacific Northwest Achievement Award for distinguished professional achievement and for enhancing the stature of the Northwest Literary community. She lives in Washington with her husband Jerry, her Papillon Millie, black cat Zipper, and a cheeky little tabby named Jack.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
March 13, 2024
Emma Lachance is married to Orville, the mayor of Point Judah, but the marriage is basically dead, as Emma is sick of 12 years of an abusive marriage. While jogging, she runs into war vet Finn Duhon, who has returned home. They knew each other in high school and sparks immediately fly between the two of them. Unfortunately, that's when they discover a dead body!
The victim was a journalist, and also a member of Secrets, a women's group. The women like to support each other and lift each other up. Does the death have something to do with the club? Emma is leaving her husband, and another member plans to as well. Is it an emasculated husband? However, there's also the matter of Finn's father's death, which he is certain was not a suicide.
One of the secondary characters in this book refers to Emma as "soft as dog shit and just as bright," and unfortunately, they are completely on the money. I always have problems with too-stupid-to-live protagonists, and Emma Lachance is yet another one in a long line of them this year. Some of her decisions are really baffling and head-scratching. Finn isn't all that better, really. The dialogue between the two of them is just awful.
After an okay start, this just dies in the ass. Nothing happens. A second body doesn't pop up until 300 pages into the book. The rest of it is taken up with mundane events that do nothing to progress either the romance or the plot. Emma and Finn will have hot and heavy sex, one of them will decide they shouldn't be sleeping together, only to go back on this a chapter later. Rinse and repeat.
The pace picks up in the final 100 pages as the author struggles to bring everything together (though I'm still unsure why the second victim was killed.) A bit of soapy melodrama, a decent climax and a plot twist I didn't see coming save this from 1 star, but the whole thing is pretty dire. I wouldn't go out of my way to track it down and read it.
The victim was a journalist, and also a member of Secrets, a women's group. The women like to support each other and lift each other up. Does the death have something to do with the club? Emma is leaving her husband, and another member plans to as well. Is it an emasculated husband? However, there's also the matter of Finn's father's death, which he is certain was not a suicide.
One of the secondary characters in this book refers to Emma as "soft as dog shit and just as bright," and unfortunately, they are completely on the money. I always have problems with too-stupid-to-live protagonists, and Emma Lachance is yet another one in a long line of them this year. Some of her decisions are really baffling and head-scratching. Finn isn't all that better, really. The dialogue between the two of them is just awful.
After an okay start, this just dies in the ass. Nothing happens. A second body doesn't pop up until 300 pages into the book. The rest of it is taken up with mundane events that do nothing to progress either the romance or the plot. Emma and Finn will have hot and heavy sex, one of them will decide they shouldn't be sleeping together, only to go back on this a chapter later. Rinse and repeat.
The pace picks up in the final 100 pages as the author struggles to bring everything together (though I'm still unsure why the second victim was killed.) A bit of soapy melodrama, a decent climax and a plot twist I didn't see coming save this from 1 star, but the whole thing is pretty dire. I wouldn't go out of my way to track it down and read it.
December 10, 2014
I generally give a book about 100 pages before I set it aside and say it's not for me. I gave this book 125 pages and consider it one of the worst books I've ever read. The characters lack depth. The scenarios are unrealistic. The dialogue is awful between characters.
September 15, 2014
There were times that I really didn't like him very much, and she was a bit too stupid to live and her whole attitude towards her divorce was ridiculous. There was too much sex that did not involve the main characters. The plot also felt kind of disjointed somehow. I'm glad I got this one from the library rather than buying it.
March 25, 2018
Great book...hard to put down!
March 31, 2021
I loved this book. Truly was a gripping murder mystery with a shocking ending!
November 16, 2008
Not as good as her last book that I read, this one was more mills and boons type.
June 15, 2025
Fastest did-not-finish to date: I normally try to read for at least an hour before giving up on a book, but this was a 10-strikes-you're-out situation by pg. 24. Two main issues:
1) Really sexist ignorant mansplaining "protectively" controlling dude who flirts with a married woman is the romantic interest, and his and the main character's attraction is entirely sexual.
2) The prose itself is awful: sooo much exposition through rambling dialogue. The first sentence (fragment) of the book is "Late on a purple-sky afternoon." which -- foreshadowing -- made me pause and remark that that was a really weird way to start a novel. If this was pitched to an agent today I don't think one would take it; it seriously needs a trim.
The murder itself is interesting but between the sexism and the bad writing I'm stopping here. (This was my first Stella Cameron book; the book itself made no mention of a series.)
Not recommended.
1) Really sexist ignorant mansplaining "protectively" controlling dude who flirts with a married woman is the romantic interest, and his and the main character's attraction is entirely sexual.
2) The prose itself is awful: sooo much exposition through rambling dialogue. The first sentence (fragment) of the book is "Late on a purple-sky afternoon." which -- foreshadowing -- made me pause and remark that that was a really weird way to start a novel. If this was pitched to an agent today I don't think one would take it; it seriously needs a trim.
The murder itself is interesting but between the sexism and the bad writing I'm stopping here. (This was my first Stella Cameron book; the book itself made no mention of a series.)
Not recommended.
Read
December 9, 2019I love a mysterious love story. It was a little difficult keeping up with the characters and was completely surprised by the ending. I did enjoy the entire book.
October 26, 2022
Another one. Seems long to get through. Just not sure why, story seems to drag on and back and forth , different style writer.
April 22, 2023
What a mystery!
A very entertaining book!
What a plot!
Emma and Finn where great characters!
You fell for them both at the beginning!
And they just heel you intrest,till The End.
A very entertaining book!
What a plot!
Emma and Finn where great characters!
You fell for them both at the beginning!
And they just heel you intrest,till The End.
April 12, 2024
Good story, lovely setting, (if you like bayous, which I do) and great characters.
October 18, 2024
Ok, I have struggled through almost 240 pages and honestly, I'm done. Why you ask? Where do I even begin?🤷♀️🤦♀️
For starters, the writing style leaves much to be desired. We are told what our characters are feeling, but only on the surface level. This means we don't get insights as to why Emma does any of the random things she does. We aren't given her inner dialog or thoughts, which would have been helpful given how flighty she came off.
On top of that, this book feels incredibly dated. It's from 2006, but it feels so much older.
The ladies here feel like relics from the 1950s, with many of them acting like subservient housewives. Our heroine was witless, flighty, and spineless...oh and fearless? 🤷♀️ She darts off in random actions, doesn't think things through, and makes other silly moves that made me cringe. I'll save my "favorite" random act for the romance section of this review. 🙄🤦♀️
The book started on a good foot with the inciting incident in the 1st chapter. We get the 1st body, as well as the meet-cute with Finn, our hero. So, I figured we were going to have a lively, exciting thriller with a budding romance between Fin and Emma...sadly instead we get chapter after chapter of random wanderings, lengthy conversations, and a random sex scene not involving our main characters, all of which does little to progress the plot.
So let's talk about the plot...or rather lack thereof.
We have a murderer in town and instead of diving headlong into the investigation or maybe the fear that the murder creates in this small town, we get Emma sticking her foot in her mouth every other paragraph, making hasty decisions that lead her to make a fool of herself, and long chapters about Emma's "girls" club that involves embarrassing and cringeworthy things such as the wearing of pink gowns, holding hands, and getting naked and slathering each other with goop. 😕
I am all for what she says the club is about; supporting each other and being there for other women in your friend group. But this "club" acts more like a weird cult, with secretive rules, and a reclusive leader. They stop just short of chanting. 🤦♀️ We also get waaay more chatter about this club than feels relative to the murder, and none of it moves the plot forward. We get moments with Emma explaining the club to her husband, then to Finn, and talking about it with her friends. All while delivering no new information to us the reader, which makes it feel redundant and pointless.
The way Emma was written came off as awkward and unhinged. She is dealing with the end of her marriage, so maybe that could account for some of her random actions. But even her move to divorce her slimy abusive husband isn't done with any measure of urgency. She drags out that decision, yet jumps headlong into doing dangerous things such as chasing down a mysterious black van that threw an envelope of photos at her; or speeding off to break into her murdered friend's place because she doesn't think the police are working fast enough. 🤔
And while Finn is with her on some of these capers, it doesn't progress the plot. Instead, it seemed random and convoluted and felt like following the trail of a chicken with its head cut off. Half the time I was left scratching my head trying to figure out why what I was reading was in the book. And why it was taking so long.
I'm giving up over halfway through this book and we still have yet for the 2nd body to drop 🤷♀️⌚ And we are getting yet another chapter revolving around her "girls" club 🙄
So what about the romance? *sigh*
The romance in this book follows the same bizarre trail as the plot...lots of jumping around, random scene changes, lengthy conversations, Emma sticking her foot in her mouth, again, and oh yeah...my favorite...Emma jumping on the bed... after sexy time with Finn 🤔 I'm sorry, how old is she? 🤦♀️
And that's about all we got from them so far...and I really don't care if they get together again or not. Although since it's a romantic thriller, I'm leaning towards "they will". But I don't want to drag myself through the rest of the book to find out for sure, or to see when the plot is finally going to kick in.
I'd say this feels a lot like a short story that got "flushed out" into a longer book, without adding anything of importance.
For starters, the writing style leaves much to be desired. We are told what our characters are feeling, but only on the surface level. This means we don't get insights as to why Emma does any of the random things she does. We aren't given her inner dialog or thoughts, which would have been helpful given how flighty she came off.
On top of that, this book feels incredibly dated. It's from 2006, but it feels so much older.
The ladies here feel like relics from the 1950s, with many of them acting like subservient housewives. Our heroine was witless, flighty, and spineless...oh and fearless? 🤷♀️ She darts off in random actions, doesn't think things through, and makes other silly moves that made me cringe. I'll save my "favorite" random act for the romance section of this review. 🙄🤦♀️
The book started on a good foot with the inciting incident in the 1st chapter. We get the 1st body, as well as the meet-cute with Finn, our hero. So, I figured we were going to have a lively, exciting thriller with a budding romance between Fin and Emma...sadly instead we get chapter after chapter of random wanderings, lengthy conversations, and a random sex scene not involving our main characters, all of which does little to progress the plot.
So let's talk about the plot...or rather lack thereof.
We have a murderer in town and instead of diving headlong into the investigation or maybe the fear that the murder creates in this small town, we get Emma sticking her foot in her mouth every other paragraph, making hasty decisions that lead her to make a fool of herself, and long chapters about Emma's "girls" club that involves embarrassing and cringeworthy things such as the wearing of pink gowns, holding hands, and getting naked and slathering each other with goop. 😕
I am all for what she says the club is about; supporting each other and being there for other women in your friend group. But this "club" acts more like a weird cult, with secretive rules, and a reclusive leader. They stop just short of chanting. 🤦♀️ We also get waaay more chatter about this club than feels relative to the murder, and none of it moves the plot forward. We get moments with Emma explaining the club to her husband, then to Finn, and talking about it with her friends. All while delivering no new information to us the reader, which makes it feel redundant and pointless.
The way Emma was written came off as awkward and unhinged. She is dealing with the end of her marriage, so maybe that could account for some of her random actions. But even her move to divorce her slimy abusive husband isn't done with any measure of urgency. She drags out that decision, yet jumps headlong into doing dangerous things such as chasing down a mysterious black van that threw an envelope of photos at her; or speeding off to break into her murdered friend's place because she doesn't think the police are working fast enough. 🤔
And while Finn is with her on some of these capers, it doesn't progress the plot. Instead, it seemed random and convoluted and felt like following the trail of a chicken with its head cut off. Half the time I was left scratching my head trying to figure out why what I was reading was in the book. And why it was taking so long.
I'm giving up over halfway through this book and we still have yet for the 2nd body to drop 🤷♀️⌚ And we are getting yet another chapter revolving around her "girls" club 🙄
So what about the romance? *sigh*
The romance in this book follows the same bizarre trail as the plot...lots of jumping around, random scene changes, lengthy conversations, Emma sticking her foot in her mouth, again, and oh yeah...my favorite...Emma jumping on the bed... after sexy time with Finn 🤔 I'm sorry, how old is she? 🤦♀️
And that's about all we got from them so far...and I really don't care if they get together again or not. Although since it's a romantic thriller, I'm leaning towards "they will". But I don't want to drag myself through the rest of the book to find out for sure, or to see when the plot is finally going to kick in.
I'd say this feels a lot like a short story that got "flushed out" into a longer book, without adding anything of importance.
February 7, 2016
Emma Lachance is trapped in a loveless, abusive marriage in Pointe Judah, Louisiana. She has almost made up her mind her divorce her husband when she meets Finn Duhon who she knew before her marriage 12 years ago. The two of them happen upon the dead body of one of her friends, a local journalist. Finn's father used to be the sheriff there before he died of an apparent suicide. Someone mails Emma some photographs of her husband and an unknown woman. Emma and Finn are attracted to each other and he is determined to keep her safe as another body turns up. Emma is not sure who she should trust as she continues to receive packages. I liked most of the characters in this romantic suspense and I thought I knew who the killer was throughout the book, although there was a twist I didn't anticipate toward the end.
May 24, 2008
Lots of nasty characters and secrets in a small LA town. Big surprise at the ending...I mean big!
One of my pet peeves, though, is when an attempt is made to use a written form a the local speech patterns. It would seem no one in the small bayou town of Pointe Judah NEVER saw a word ending in ING they cared to use. I started obsessing about it before the book was finished.
The plot moves along nicely, peppered with lust, rape, murder, political shenanigans, local sociopath and, oh yes, romance.
One of my pet peeves, though, is when an attempt is made to use a written form a the local speech patterns. It would seem no one in the small bayou town of Pointe Judah NEVER saw a word ending in ING they cared to use. I started obsessing about it before the book was finished.
The plot moves along nicely, peppered with lust, rape, murder, political shenanigans, local sociopath and, oh yes, romance.
January 22, 2016
Emma Lachance has been unhappily married for most of her twelve year marriage to controlling and manipulative town mayor (and hoping to soon be governor) Orville Lachance, fifteen years her senior. While jogging in a remote area of town, she runs into her former high school classmate, Finn Duhon, who has recently moved back into town. As Emma finally gets the nerve to file for divorce, her friends are murdered, one by one. As Emma and Finn begin to investigate on their own, their relationship becomes more than just frienship, and both of their lives are soon in jeopardy.
June 2, 2018
It was a pretty good book. Very gripping and exciting, it keeps you on your toes. I was not expecting the ending though, I did not see it coming at all. It was a total surprise, although I know Finn and Emma would end up together, it's kinda the nature of these kind of books. But all in all good book.
January 28, 2016
This was an ok book for me. This was written well, has suspense, a big twist, emotions and an ok ending. The main reason I couldn't really get into this book was the characters and their personalities. There were a little bothering for me and didn't seem very strong. Overall good but not great for me. Good Luck
Read
November 13, 2010Emma finds a body while running into an old classmate. Emma's husband is mayor; loveless marriage. A group that Emma belongs to, support group for women, has several women killed. A salesperson for medicine is the murderer. He dresses like a woman and belongs to the club.
August 31, 2007
As with most of her books I found the characters engaging, but the story and mystery somewhat lacking. Not a bad read though.
July 14, 2008
This book makes me think a woman's club of the sort mentioned in this book would be great! A little too romancy and wishy washy, but the murder mystery part is great.
July 14, 2008
These characters in Pointe Judah are fantastic!!! Get them in order!!!
Read
September 19, 2008Good job weaving all the stuff together never expected the ending
June 1, 2009
great
November 29, 2010
loved it!
March 10, 2013
I enjoyed the mix of romance and suspense, and how at the end of every chapter you were left on edge, waiting to see what would happen next. I thought it was perfect.
June 3, 2012
this is another bayou book, and its all connected but at the same time its not. If you want edge of your seat, can't put a book down you need to read this series.
April 15, 2013
It was a good story, but it kinda of dragged out.
February 20, 2014
small town murders. Incomplete character development and unlikley conversations. - did not like
June 8, 2014
was good but a bit drawn out
April 13, 2015
Liked the mystery here. Love the south!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews