Blood in the Bayou

FBI Agent Jade Monroe: Live or Die #1

by C.M. Sutter

On her first assignment since her promotion to SSA status in the Serial Crimes Unit of the FBI, Jade Monroe and her new partner, Lorenzo DeLeon, are tasked to southern Louisiana, where disturbing discoveries have been made. Human bones have been found in numerous sites deep in bayou country, and the locals aren’t too excited about having outsiders poking around in their business.

When Jade has a chance meeting with a local hunter, she finds his assistance exactly what she needs to break through that unwelcoming barrier. She brings him on board as their go-between. The hunter inserts himself into their investigation and gains Jade’s trust, but is he authentic, or does he have his own agenda?

A bone-chilling blindside and a dangerous chase through the Louisiana swamps is just the beginning, but the question remains—is Jade the hunter, or is she the one being hunted?

FBI Agent Jade Monroe Live or Die Series books are listed in chronological order below
#1 Blood in the Bayou
#2 Blood Trail
#3 Blood Reckoning
#4 Blood Legacy

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks, Crime, Suspense

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2021

About the author

C.M. Sutter was born in San Jose, California and split time between the sunny California coast and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a senior in high school, she chose Wisconsin as her permanent address. After many years in the Badger State, she decided on a warmer year-round climate to call home and moved south.
Years of progression took her from working in large companies, to twelve years as a massage therapist, and finally, owning a corporation. She has been self-employed for over twenty years.
Ms. Sutter has been writing and self-publishing since 2014 with eleven titles published in a different genre. Because of her deep interest in crime and thriller novels, she took up writing in the police procedural/crime thriller genre in 2016.

Reviews

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrific serial killer murders with incompetent FBI agents.

I’ve read hundreds of crime fiction books, including some gory serial killer murder books. That said, here’s a macabre book that I barely managed to finish—and only by speed-skimming. There’s a mishmash of topics: bar scenes, missing women, runaway teens, hunting wild pigs, swamp-dwelling people, kidnapping, violent killings, butchery, piles of bones, partial carcasses, and cannibalism.

As a crime fiction fan, I was exasperated by the author’s portrayal of two inept FBI agents running an irresponsibly bad murder investigation. Forget protocols and procedures! These agents are without common sense, have poor character judgement, lack perception of personal danger—and they make terrible decisions that lead to civilian deaths. Possibly the worst (and very predictable) police procedural.

WARNINGS: NSFW, brutal treatment of women; grisly deaths of men & women; graphic pain and suffering; physical and mental torture; cannibalism; and discussion about processing prey. Frequent derogatory words for women and references to God. But no so-called F-bombs.

1.5 stars because I made it to the end.

[Deepa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first book i have read by this author and I must say I am not going back.
The book starts off with a wedding. A cop wedding. Maybe trying to tie in different characters from different books. The wedding was boring. All the conversations were boring. If anyone were to simply read the wedding, they would put the book down and move on.
The next scene moves to the serial killer. Immediately his identity is revealed The book is not a whodunit. Maybe some amount of suspense could have been maintained if his POV was discussed but his name and other details kept hidden.
The killer is a hunter. He kills people, removes the meat and eats the meat. That is how he survives. That was disgusting and gross and so so bad I don't want to go on.
At this point of time, any sensible person would have given up and moved on. Foolishly i didn't. I read on.
The killer keeps following the FBI. Learns everything they know. Volunteers as a subject matter expert. Gets hired by them. They blindly believe him. Never asking for any id, anything. That would be more suitable to bumbling idiots rather than trained agents.
There was not one scene or one aspect of the book that was redeemable

[Joey Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoiler alert! Ugh. Just terrible.

Story was pretty good and had great potential. But having said that it’s the only nice thing I can say. The writing is awful and it’s difficult to believe this is a popular author.

Too much time spent on details that don’t add to the story (food, clothing, ponytails and such) and not enough on the actual story.

The FBI agents were unbelievably inept and it’s not possible for them to be in senior positions. No background check on a consultant?! Never showing the picture of the man in the bar to anyone? Even if it’s poor quality?

There were also several inconsistencies: one witness says the last time he saw a victim was evening on Wednesday. Then the same witness says he last saw him Thursday morning. And then someone had been gone for a couple hours and on the next page they had been gone 1 1/2. Not going to bother reading anything else in the series.

[Black Butterfly · Rating 1 out of 5]

EVERY COP SHOW I'VE WATCHED ALL SAY TO BEWARE THE PEOPLE WHO TRY AND INSERT THEMSELVES INTO THE CASE TRYING TO BE HELPFUL. WELL, JADE AND RENZ MUST HAVE BEEN ABSENT THE DAY WHEN THAT WAS TAUGHT. SMH! BAD GUY WAS SO OBVIOUS AND HE WAS VERY HATEABLE. I'VE READ SEVERAL OF THESE AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I KEEP TRYING, GUESS THEY WERE CHEAP BUT THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I'VE GOT TO REMEMBER DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE. ;{

[James LoSasso · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is very believable, but the character (Jade Monroe) could never be an FBI agent. There is no way an FBI agent would share any data about an investigation with a complete stranger. Especially someone who hasn't been checked out first.
I have spent a lot of time in Houma and everyone hunts and fishes, including law enforcement. Who better to seek help from, but law enforcement. Just to involve someone unknown and unvetted in the investigation is not how law enforcement works.

[Corinne · Rating 1 out of 5]

They were the most incompetent FBI agents I’ve ever read about. No background checks and way too much information given to their “consultant” he just happened to mention he might be able to help them. I mean really! Then there was the writing. The book was filled with “I opened the door and sat in the seat. I put the key in the ignition and turned it on. Then I put the car into first gear” etc etc. How about “I got in the car and drove.”

[David Pospisil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good serial killer story.
I have read other Monroe books and didn't like this as much.
The chemistry between Jade and her new partner just was not there.
It also seemed very naive that Jade was fooled by the killer.
While much of the action was in the bayou, I never got much of a feel for the bayou.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars and a thumbs up.

Quite a graphic read - a real psycho on the loose in the Bayou - would you expect any less? FBI Agent Jade is just feeling her way into the FBI, but I find she is still quite careless with the experience she has.

[Hollie Deroche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t care for the authors writing style. From the beginning she told us who the killer was. Would have liked to have been guessing until the very end. I did like ending.

[Kaye]

Why did I start reading it?

My comfort reads are mystery thrillers. I thought to check out the free mystery thriller Kindle books (yep, that's how I typed it on the search bar) in the store hoping to find a gem.


Why I DNF?

The writing was not effective. It's one of those cases where the author 'tells' you things in the story instead of 'showing' them to you through the narrative. An example would be the list of all the MC's new 'special agent' colleagues where the author wrote their names with 'Special Agent' before each name. There were ways to have made it shorter and more effective to the story than that.

[Erin Barker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot believe there are 12 books in this series, because at about 1/2 way through the story the FBI agents are so stupid, I'm rooting for the killer.

If I could give this story zero stars and any future readers a stern warning that the main character is infuriatingly dumb, I most certainly would.

Just. Don't. Bother.

The one star is for me for actually finishing this insipid tripe. It wasn't scary, thrilling, or even entertaining. There will be no additional reading of this series or author by me.

[Ashley Dimmerling · Rating 5 out of 5]

BONE CHILLING…towards the end of the book I legit had sweaty pits and my heart rate was up! Not going to lie, it was kind of disconcerting at parts but a really great read 🙌🏼

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not for the faint hearted. Jade and her partner, Renz, are tracking a serial killer who is a cannibal. Good story line!

[Terry Prokuski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not well thought out

I couldn’t finish this. Would the FBI really hire someone they struck up a conversation with in a diner? No background check or interview, just based on his word? And then spill all the details of their investigation in the first 5 minutes? Add to that the stilted dialogue, and the way the author repeatedly makes the point that he eats his victims… Sorry but I couldn’t get through it.

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only just made it to the end I'm afraid. The story was horrifically graphic but written in a disturbingly childish manner somehow.

How two grown adults with what I can only assume was extensive training can run such a shoddy investigation beggars belief.

I am of the school of 'if you can't say anything nice, don't speak' but geez, people need to be warned.

Sorry C M Shutter, I will not be attempting another of your books.

[Selena Spiropoulos · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am having a hard time coming up with a review for this one. I liked the story line but most of the events would never happen.
FBI comes in to investigate a murder scene
Female agent allows a local to weasel his way in and become there go to guy?
No background on this guy but they trust him with sensitive information regarding witnesses and evidence.
It would never happen making it unbelievable to me.

[thomas davisson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing

I have enjoyed all of the books in all the series written by the author. While this book was entertaining it was entirely too predictable. I will continue to read all of the books written by the author because I enjoy her books. This book to me just wasn't up to the standard of her other books. I have already started book two in the series.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/4 stars

I'm pretty sure it's just me. I mean, seriously. I like police procedurals because bad guys get caught, right prevails, etc., etc.

But I don't love thrillers as much as I used to.

There. I said it.

In this one, newly-minted FBI agent Jade Monroe and her partner Lorenzo deLeon are sent to Houma, Louisiana, to track a potential serial killer. A dump site of human remains has been found by a couple of hunters, and the FBI is on top of it almost immediately.

Of course, since this is a thriller, we already know "whodunnit." The point of these stories is to see whether the killer will be stopped ... and we know he will be, because there are more books in the series. But it's not long before he's got Jade in his sights.

Admittedly, the plot moves along and nothing is gratuitous in the story. Thrillers tend, by their very nature, to be gory. But the truth is, while the book was well-written, and takes place in a part of the world that is near and dear to my heart, I just didn't love it at the end of the day.

[Emily McCollin · Rating 4 out of 5]

good start

Ok, so this story line is great! I read the whole book in a hurry, in spite of not knowing if the main character was a man or woman for a few chapters. There are a lot of names thrown at the reader that don’t really have anything to do with the story, and for that matter, and a lot of random details that were distracting. The story still captured me, so I look forward to reading more novels by this author as her work develops.

[Yazlina Saduri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grizzly, crazy gross, horrific to the c, gosh. This is by far the most gruesome thriller I've read so far, had to try quite hard not to shiver when Jade got caught. Damn why is she so trusting. Renz has got the signals but.. Then again, crazy guys can be the most convincing bugger and the sweetest talker.

[Donnap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blood in th the bayou

This book was hard for me to get into. It may have been the timing of me reading it just didn't hold my interest like most FBI thrillers do

[Kassondra Buel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was a very on the edge of your seat book loved every minute of it very good book

[taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this one a lot. Enjoyed the different perspectives this story was told from and how it slowly merged together.

While searching for the serial killer, the fbi agents may become the next targets. They do lol. It gets weird with some cannibalism and a little gory with some bloody details but not too bad really.

[Jerry Walch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blood In The Bayou is the first book in the FBI Agent Jade Monroe Live or Die Series, but it wasn’t my first meeting with Jade Monroe. I first encountered Jade when she was a detective sergeant with the sheriff’s department in the novel Maniac. I not only fell in love with Jade, I fell in love with C. M. Sutter as an author. She writes her stories with two points of view characters, Jade and her antagonist, and alternates her POV characters with each new chapter. It’s a hard style to pull off, but Sutter pulls it off with ease.

 In Blood In The Bayou, we find Jade, as a newly minted SSA (Senior Special Agent), embarking on her first serial murder case. They dispatched her to the Louisiana Bayou country with her new partner, Lorenzo “Renz” DeLeon, to assist the local sheriff in apprehending the person who's abducting and killing locals, and dumping their bones in the bayou. The denizens of the bayous don’t like outsiders sticking their noses in their business, so no one cooperates with Jade and Renz. With three days left before they will be recalled, it appears as if Jade will begin her new posting with an unsolved case on her record. Neither of them were happy about that. That was when one local stepped forward and offered Jade his help in tracking down the perp. Little did Jade suspect that the man offering her his help was the man she was hunting. Jade, the hunter, became the hunted. She didn’t have a clue until she fell into his trap and found herself strung up on his “Killing Tree.”

 We know that, since Jade is the MC of the series that she escapes and get’s her man, but the way she does that… well, you’ll just have to read this book to find out.

[Kristie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story outline itself, and felt it was well written at times (as in getting to know the characters). The only thing I couldn't seem to get over, is how incredibly stupid the FBI elite agents were (especially Jade).

Basically they are on a case regarding a serial killer, they were flown in from out of state due to being more "adept" than local police. First night, their tire was mysteriously slashed at the hotel. They think nothing of it, and go about their business. Later Jade bumps into a guy named "Bob" while she's getting burgers. As she's leaving, she discovered another tire is slashed. Bob offers a ride (first he said he needed to call, and let his wife know). She accepts the ride????? Whoa hang on a minute, she's an elite FBI agent who handles murder investigations, yet takes rides from strangers??? OK...

Later stranger Bob is invited into the investigation, allowed to look at evidence including body parts, without being veted???? What police agency does this???? Probably not the local police, just the dumber than rocks special FBI agents that were called in. Later on in the investigation, Renz, Jade's partner questioned stranger Bob why he didn't have a phone. It was explained away, yet still no RED flags going off in Jade's pea brain. Like "hey" how did he call his wife that day?

Long story short, it made it a very difficult read.. my eyes were rolling too much.

[Allen Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I've read of this series and although I enjoyed the basic premise of the story and the characters, I felt a bit like I'd walked in late to the party. Having said that, a good concept that kept me engaged till the finish. One observation I'd make is I felt the antagonist was a bit too articulate for someone in his circumstances, but I may be nitpicking here...

[MaryAnn Dion · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was lacking in many ways. It began with a wedding that had nothing to do with the story. An FBI agent divulges sensitive information to a guy she met in a fast food restaurant, accepts a ride from this total stranger, and hires him to help on a serial killer case without verifying his identity. Meanwhile, people who are reporting missing loved ones must show proof of their identity. Jade Monroe was directly responsible for the deaths of two men whose names she disclosed—this was never addressed. I have visited the bayous of Louisiana on three occasions—I wouldn’t recognize them from the descriptions in this book. I could go on and on. I won’t be reading any more books by this author.

[Rita Belluz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unnecessary descriptive violence

I am avid reader and no stranger to reading books full of violence, but this story is particularly disgusting. The descriptive method used to kill two men was disturbing and the story could of been accomplished without all the gore. Not much of a story and if Suffers books are all about unnecessary violence and gore I won't be reading anymore of his books.

[Sierra Lewis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I WANTED to give the story line 3 stars because it had potential and I enjoyed some of it but the more I sat with it and thought about it, I just can’t. I’ve voted some stories 4-5 stars that were objectively not great for one reason or another as long as I loved the story but I just didn’t enjoy this book ENOUGH to vote it high. That being said, I’ll say I agree with all the lower reviews. I didn’t DNF because I rarely do unless I get bored but this book had me confused at several points and I stuck with it just to see where it was going.

I found it hard to go along with it because the agents were just so … CLUELESS. You expect us to believe a seasoned FBI special agent tasked to hunt serial killers would not be suspicious of an overly friendly face after having her tires slashed not once but twice and then said friendly stranger offering her a ride? Or that the people who find the bones disappear? Or that Bob puts himself right in the middle of everything? No background checks on the name beyond a cursory search of the name then oh it’s a common name there are too many and going about their business? Not catching the name between what Leroy told them and the name on the membership papers?

I won’t really speak to the other issues because they’re just story fillers but this book wasn’t a thriller or a mystery. We went on a ride with the killer every step of the way, it was only a mystery to the police. There was zero suspense. When books include dual personalities, especially thrillers, you expect some mystery, some unreliable narration, anything. I wanted to like the book, I truly did. I’d seen it advertised on social media and the title and blurb drew me in but it just fell flat.

I see the author has a lot of books and they’re all rated relatively high so I might give another book a try but I’m not sure I can bring myself to right now. It’s a longer series so maybe it gets better?

[Dieter · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Blood in the Bayou" presents an atmospheric crime thriller set in the intriguing backdrop of southern Louisiana. The novel follows Jade Monroe, recently promoted to SSA status in the FBI's Serial Crimes Unit, and her partner Lorenzo DeLeon. As they investigate disturbing discoveries of human bones in the bayou, the plot takes unexpected turns with the introduction of a local hunter.

The crimes, the Louisiana setting, and the general atmosphere contribute to the book's appeal. However, the narrative takes a hit with the portrayal of Jade Monroe, who, despite her FBI training, engages in questionable decision-making. Her actions, such as getting into a car with a stranger and neglecting basic safety measures, raise eyebrows and compromise the credibility of her character.

The tension builds as the story unfolds, leading to a bone-chilling blindside and a dangerous chase through the Louisiana swamps. Despite the engaging elements, the frustrating choices made by the main character detract from the overall experience. The hope for a more strategic and cautious protagonist is dashed, leaving the reader questioning the authenticity of Jade's role as an FBI agent.

The novel's potential is hindered by the implausible actions of its lead character, which may leave readers skeptical about continuing the series. While the crimes, setting, and atmosphere are commendable, the characterization choices may impact the overall enjoyment for those seeking a more realistic portrayal of FBI agents in crime fiction.