In the shadow-draped town of Slaughter, Louisiana, whispers travel faster than the sluggish bayou current, and every resident seems to carry a secret. When Sam arrives, he's looking for peace and a place to rebuild his life. What he finds instead is Ellen--beautiful, adventurous, and full of stories that weave the town's past with its hauntingly beautiful present. Their connection is instant, and Sam can't help but fall for her. But Slaughter isn't the quiet town it appears to be, and Ellen's world is anything but ordinary. Beneath the surface of friendly smiles and warm welcomes lurk deeper, older rituals, and a group of friends bound by something darker than loyalty. As Ellen's feelings for Sam grow, so does the weight of a secret she's sworn to keep--a secret that may cost Sam more than he ever imagined. When strange disappearances shake the town, suspicion begins to rise, but nothing is as it seems. As Sam is drawn further into Slaughter's tangled history and Ellen's enigmatic circle of friends, he starts to sense that danger lies just beneath the surface of everything he thought he knew. In Having Sam for Dinner, love becomes a game of trust, deception hides behind Southern charm, and the bayou always claims its due.