Uncle Otis

Allen Blackwood has long been curious about his family's past, yet his mother rarely talks about the relatives she left behind in Mississippi. Over the years he has gathered only scraps of information, and many of his southern kin seem to be shrouded in secrecy, especially a figure known only as Uncle Otis. Struggling financially in Virginia, Allen finally decides to start over and head south, hoping to make a fresh beginning and to finally uncover what happened to his family.

In Mississippi, State Police Detective Lashauna Trudeau is assigned to a double homicide involving an elderly couple. As a Black woman in the Deep South, and as a female officer, she faces obstacles that few of her colleagues do. Relying on a quick wit and a relentless approach to investigation, she follows the case toward a reclusive family with a long record of crime, and into a violent underworld of drugs and dangerous men.

Allen's effort to reconnect with his relatives draws him into a situation far more hazardous than he expected, and his search for the truth places him and those around him at risk. As the family secrets come to light, he finds himself sinking further into this perilous world. Trudeau must identify the killer and reach Allen before he vanishes entirely into the murky waters of Whiskey Bayou.