“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 whispers of a body being found,” Rita relates in “Poison Wood’s” opening. “I’m always listening for whispers like that. My ears are trained to home in on words like bloody and crime.”
Meanwhile, back in the Bayou State, a local historical preservation society discovers a human skull while cleaning up an abandoned all-girls boarding school, Poison Wood Therapeutic Academy for Girls. Located deep in the Kisatchie National Forest, the school is turning 100 and a celebration is being organized, thus the sprucing up and surprising skull finding.
The news brings Rita right home, on the case, and reliving her unfortunate stint as a student at the school, where her friend had disappeared years before. That was one of the many mysterious occurrences at the boarding school that eventually led to its closure.
Researching Louisiana boarding schools for her book was how Moorhead stumbled upon this abandoned girls’ school in the Kisatchie Forest and secured the backdrop for her story. The eerie, two-story structure is depicted in the book’s cover illustration. Inside the old school, the author said she saw writing still on the chalkboards, files strewn about and demolished stairs.
For Rita, suppressed memories, emotions and secrets rise to the surface as she revisits the old school and her past. As the investigation expands, her own family tree enters the picture, taking a turn readers never saw coming.
Will she get to the bottom of all this and finally get some closure on her long-lost friend? Cozy up with this page-turner and find out.
Moorhead, a general studies graduate of LSU, is not only an author but also a filmmaker. The three indie short films she’s written and produced have all made the top 20 at the Louisiana Film Prize and won awards at global festivals.
Moorhead says she’s immersed in story inspiration all around her semi-rural north Louisiana homestead.
“I live on a wild piece of property where I get to experience swamps, woods and trails as well as all of the critters that live in those places,” she says. “I’m immersed in the sights, smells and sounds of Louisiana every day, and I love sharing those things in my writing.”
Moorhead fell in love with creative writing after taking a poetry class at LSU.
“I didn’t pursue it much then,” she recalled in 2024. “It would be years later, in a continuing education class on creative writing, that I learned my love for writing novels.”
When she’s working on a book, Moorhead said she attempts to write every day.
“If the words aren’t flowing, I find it’s best to walk away and let my subconscious work on it a little. I like to write in the mornings, and I have an office in my house, but I can write anywhere — the kitchen, a coffee shop, outside on the porch,” she said. “It’s all about word count for me. I have a word count I like to reach every day. When I reach it, I’m done for the day.”
Moorhead is currently counting words for her third book. And the protagonist this time? Still a mystery.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.shreveportbossieradvocate.com ’
