Whisper of the Bayou

Title: WHISPERS OF THE BAYOU
Author: Mindy Starns Clark
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
2008
ISBN: 978-0-7369-1879-4
Genre: Inspirational/suspense

Miranda Miller, as far as she knows, has always lived with her aunt AJ in Manhattan. She has a father in Arizona who touches base with her once a year, but otherwise, as far as she knows, Miranda doesn’t have a past, other than New York. Now she has a fulfilling job as an art restorer at a Manhattan museum, a loving husband, and an adorable five-year-old daughter, Tess.

When Miranda is summoned to the bedside of a dying man in Louisiana, she discovers a terrible tragedy that cut her off from family and had erased the first five years of her life from her memory entirely. Willy Pedreaux is the caretaker of Miranda’s grandparents’ antebellum estate, and when he passes, the estate is supposed to go into Miranda’s care. But Willy has secrets to share with Miranda first. Secrets about a tattoo that was branded on Miranda’s skull sometime as a child. Secrets about her mother. But before Willy can share his knowledge, his premature death sends Miranda into a nightmare of buried secrets, priceless treasures, and unknown enemies.

I have read all of Mindy Starns Clark’s books to date, and as much as I loved her Smartchick series, I think WHISPERS OF THE BAYOU is my favorite book of hers so far. Rich with the history of the Acadians who settled in Louisiana and became known as Cajun, the book is stock full of their heritage, beliefs, lore, and the mysterious area in which they live.

Miranda is a loveable heroine, seemingly very strong and courageous, but also fearful in many ways. I couldn’t help but fall in love with some of the colorful characters introduced in this book, especially Miranda’s Uncle Holt, who works with service dogs to see which service they would be best suited for. WISHPERS OF THE BAYOU held my interest all the way through, and as the electric was out due to a severe ice storm, I even read this book by candle light. I had to see what happened. I was very surprised at some of the twists and turns this book had, though I did have some suspicious who the “bad guys” were going to be. $13.99. 337 pages.