Uncle Otis

About the Book

Anthony Brandt once wrote, “Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.” When it comes to Allen Blackwood, this quote rings painfully true. Allen has always been intrigued at the thought of discovering his family history. With no help from his mother - who never seems open to discuss her family back in Mississippi - Allen is able to pick up snippets of information over the years. Oddly, a strange secrecy surrounds a lot of his southern relatives – this is especially so when it come to the mysterious Uncle Otis. Allen yearns to seek the truth, but never can find the time to go for a visit until, down on his luck, he decides to give up on his hand-to-mouth lifestyle in Virginia and sets out for Mississippi. With the hope of starting new and the chance to shine some light on the timeworn family mysteries; Allen sets out for Mississippi. In Mississippi, State Police Detective, Lashauna Trudeau, is working the double homicide of an elderly couple. Being a woman of color in the Deep South is a difficult obstacle to overcome by itself, but being a woman of color with a badge is a near impossible task for the average. Trudeau is anything but average. She succeeds with her sharp wit and a tenacious investigative style and her bulldog mentality soon puts her on the trail of a reclusive family with a long history of lawlessness. Diving deep into a nasty world full of drugs and bad men, Trudeau will stop at nothing to bring the murderer to justice. Allen’s quest to reunite with his relatives proves to be more than he bargained for and his pursuit of learning the family history puts himself, and others in danger. As Allen begins to uncover the truth behind his family, he sinks deeper into a dangerous world. Detective Trudeau must find a way to identify the killer, and save Allen before he disappears completely - into the dark waters of the Whiskey Bayou.

About the Author

Shawn A. Lawson is the acclaimed author of two previous novels, The Christmas Canteen and Knight of the Black Flag. He lives in in Gloucester, Virginia with his wife, children and grandson. He is currently working on a new novel titled, A Place in the Dark, due out in the summer of 2020.