Langston Priestly is a journalist from New York City who is down in the bayou to write a documentary on the wetlands. He stumbles upon a voodoo ritual ceremony, which excites the journalist in him but also scares him. In town, he hears numerous stories warning him to stay away from the voodoo priestess named Halle Johnson. She is labeled everything from a seductress to a murderer. None of it bothered Langston, he was there to write a documentary, not get involved with community gossip.

While taking pictures in the bayou, Langston is bitten by a water moccasin and wakes up in Halle's bed. She nurses him back to health and he learns a lot more about the infamous Halle. Mainly, all the horrible rumors are untrue, she is a beautiful, caring person and he is falling in love with her. Langston works to change the townspeople image of Halle and clear her name in a decade old murder rumor. When his assignment ends, will he be able to return to New York without his Bayou Babe?

One of the disadvantages of living in a small town is that people are usually in everyone's business. Rumors, true or untrue, seem to spread quickly and are extremely hard to dispel, which is demonstrated in this story. I enjoyed the story because the heroine was a strong woman who didn't let the rumors break her spirit. She held her head high, no matter how much people snickered, whispered or tried to ridicule her. Sometimes, silence is the best response to ignorance.

Reviewed by: Pam S.