HOME OF THE HAPPY

A young writer dives deep in an attempt to solve a cold case in her hometown.

One early morning in 1983, LaHaye Fontenot’s great-grandfather Aubrey—a retired bank president, “handshake businessman,” and civic leader in Mamou, Louisiana—was kidnapped from his home. Ten days later he was found dead in nearby Bayou Nezpique, bruised and muddy. For those 10 days, the LaHaye family compound was central command for local officials and FBI agents working a case on scant, fuzzy details provided by MawMaw Emily, the author’s great-grandmother. Aubrey’s murder and the search for his killer redefined a prominent family whose own history was deeply enmeshed in a changing Acadiana town. Even after a conviction, the family’s presumption of safety, even untouchability, was jarred; the incident sparked a string of tragedies and losses and became a loaded family myth shrouded in mystery and secret suspicions. Donning the mantle of an investigative reporter with decades more experience, LaHaye Fontenot resolves to put an end to familial silence, whispered theories, and unfollowed leads. Unnerved by the persistent claim of innocence from the man imprisoned for Aubrey’s murder, the author claws through official records and mines the long-closeted memories of generations of relatives. It is a bold move to anchor a debut work in raising questions about one’s own family history and small-town justice system, but LaHaye Fontenot’s pursuit is marked by judicious research, her honest, if complicated, effort at impartiality, and rhapsodic details that honor her home and heritage. From her macabre opening scene through the exhaustion of her material and the various problems of legal and social practice that intersect with her project, she confronts both her family’s grand legacy and the challenges of finding true resolution in nonfiction.

A vivid, unflinching, and suspenseful true-crime story from a soulful new voice.