Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
© Kathy Kehrli
I was prompted to read this book following a trip to Savannah, Georgia. I rented the movie (starring Kevin Spacey) first, something I rarely do. Don't make the same mistake. The novel has so much more character depth and drama. I was intrigued from cover to cover.
The action takes place in 1981. When a New York magazine editor decides to call Savannah his second home, he gets more than Southern hospitality. In this rare remainder of the Old South, he becomes a spectator to all sorts of hidden secrets, including murder.
The main story line focuses on the shooting of young Danny Hansford, a violent and disturbed twenty-one year old. He lives with and works for Jim Williams, a prominent socialite and millionaire. When Jim Williams kills Danny Hansford in the opulent office of his Mercer House mansion, is it murder or self-defense? Follow Jim's trial through its many verdicts and appeals, through prosecutorial misconduct and police cover-ups and even through Jim's own ever-changing retelling of the incident. Decide for yourself if he's guilty or innocent.
Interspersed within this compelling legal drama, you'll meet an eclectic but always entertaining mix of Savannah society. Included in this wacky cast of characters are: Mr. Glover, an elderly gentleman who walks an imaginary dog that's been dead for ten years; Luther Driggers, the restaurant regular who carries around a bottle of poison deadly enough to kill all of Savannah: Lady Chablis, the drama drag queen who will say and do just about anything; Sonny Seiler, Jim's attorney and the proud owner of the University of Georgia's bulldog mascot UGA; and Minerva, the voodoo witch doctor consulted by Jim to work her magic in his favor.
Of special interest is how this novel got its title. Minerva casts her spells during the period she refers to as 'dead time'. The half-hour before midnight is for doing "good". The half-hour after midnight is for doing "evil". All of the voodoo rituals must be carried out in the graveyard or the "flower garden", as Minerva calls it. Hence the name Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil .
Now you might be thinking this novel reads like the work of an imaginary genius, but the real kicker is that this book is a work of non-fiction. Every member of this cast of character really exists. Every crazed plot twist actually took place. Every word is based on true events.
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