The Pointe DeLeaux Chronicles - The story so far

In celebration of the release of Refining Ties, the second book in what I've dubbed The Pointe DeLeaux Chronicles, I thought I'd write a little blog post explaining the story, giving some small behind the scenes thoughts, and just in general providing an overview for those that may want to come down to bayou country.

True Detective Season 1 is the best season of television ever created. I'll stand by that until my final hour. Beyond the amazing characters of Marty and Rust, their dynamic, and the wild case they get pulled into, the atmosphere of Louisiana adds such a layer to the narrative. I've watched this season at least five times, and I'm sure I'll watch it many more. In watching it, though, it gave me an idea. A story, set in the deep bayou country of south Louisiana. It was an experiment in atmosphere.

Bound To Parish was born.

Alphonse Bordeaux is a detective, working for state homicide in Alexandria, but he was born and raised in a tiny, swamp village called Pointe DeLeaux. It's the type of town that takes three minutes to pass through, where everyone knows everyone else, and families have been around for generations. Al's family is much the same. His mother Maggie Bordeaux has run the corner store in the Pointe since he was a child, and Al was basically raised in it. However, since becoming a "big-shot detective", he's lost touch with his mother, his sister Abigail, and the town he called home.

That is, until he gets a call from his sister that his mother has passed. The funeral is in a week, and he needs to come down for it. As much as he doesn't want to face the scolding he'll get for leaving his small town life behind, his big city life isn't going so well, so he makes the trip. Anything to get away from the empty house he's haunted since his ex-wife Julie left.

When he gets to town, he meets up with his old friend, Gary Chaplain. Gary had dreams of becoming a professional football player, but as life often does, he ended up in something else entirely. He's now a local Pointe DeLeaux police officer, and he's heard of Al's legacy. With him in town, Gary asks for his help on a case that everyone else seems to be ignoring. Girls have been going missing, and no one seems to care. It's just par for the course in south Louisiana. However, since Al's sister has given him a less-than-warm welcome, he's looking for anything to take him mind off the situation. So he decides to help.

He also reunites with Marcie Richard, his long ago school crush. She used to be a high powered lawyer in the city as well, but after her life crumbled, she came back to what she knew. He's had eyes for Marcie since they were kids, and now that he's back in town and needs a place to stay, Marcie offers an extra room for him.

Meanwhile, Frank Menoit is trying to fulfill his destiny. He's trying to build the family he's always wanted. His mother instilled many things into him: the importance of family, a love for God, and deep seated trauma that ultimately shaped his life. He spends his days feeding the alligators in the bayou, protecting the half-sunken church given to him by God, and nurturing his two baby girls as best he can. At night, he spends time with his current wife, also provided by God, in hopes of producing the son he's meant to raise. He's been through a few wives recently. None of them have realized the plan that's been laid out for them. None of them were pure enough for Frank. Sure, they produced the daughters he loves, but they couldn't accept their destiny. That's why Frank had to "purify" them in the waters of Angusta Bayou.

When all is said and done (I won't spoil the ending too much for people who haven't read it), Frank's daughters need a home. Al and Marcie decide to take them in, in hopes of giving them the love they need. After deciding to stay in the Pointe, Al takes up a position with the Pointe DeLeaux PD, doing desk work part time. His skills as a detective feel wasted, but it's all he can do at the time. Besides, he's trying to adjust to family life. He never expected to be a father, and it's a lot harder than he thought.

While trying to navigate his new life, a body washes up in Angusta. It's a Welltec refinery worker from the nearby town of Collins. The refinery is the life blood of the town, providing jobs across the entire parish. As Gary and Al start looking into this man's death, things start to go sideways. People seem to clam up when they ask about him, and the Collins police force seems strangely interested in what they do with the case. Something isn't sitting right with the whole situation, and over the course of the investigation, they find out why. Welltec has a stranglehold on the town, and will stop at nothing to protect it.

I still think Bound To Parish is my favorite book so far. The title is perfectly layered, the atmosphere is all-encompassing, and the characters are down to Earth. Frank especially is a very creepy antagonist, and I think he was a large part of the success of the book.

I was going to give more information on Refining Ties, but again, I won't spoil it too much on the first day of release. Mainly, I wanted to give a run down of the story so far, to get people back into the headspace of Pointe DeLeaux. It's a headspace I've found myself spending a LOT of time in, and will continue to do so until this final book is finished. At the moment, I'm still only around six chapters into it, but the progress has been good so far, and the ideas for where it goes and how it all wraps up excite me.

I hope, after reading Refining Ties, the thought of the final book excites you too. Until then, happy reading.

-Dave