"Everybody needs a little escape," says Jennifer Moorhead .

The Louisiana author gladly gifts that to readers in the pages of her second thriller, "Poison Wood."

Shreveport resident Moorhead's first riveting riddle, "Broken Bayou," published in July 2024, quickly became an Amazon bestseller. Leaning in to that successful formula — a Louisiana setting both scenic and sinister, a strong female protagonist and no shortage of secrets — Moorhead crafted "Poison Wood" not as a follow-up to "Broken Bayou," but as a companion book. Both stand alone, although the author does elevate a character from the first book, crime reporter Rita Meade, into the lead role for "Poison Wood."

"I'm nursing a scotch at the sleek, backlit mother-of-pearl bar at the Serai hotel in Miami Beach when I first hear

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