Book Review: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

I recently went on a trip to Savannah with one of my best friends, Peg.  She and I fell in love with the gorgeous city, nearby beach at Tybee Island, and centuries of history.  One of the most popular items sold in gift shops was the novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.  Peg read the book and raved, so I bought it.

The book is written like a novel, but is actually a work of nonfiction.  There are several stories about the who's who in Savannah, but Jim Williams is the primary focus.  For those of you who have never heard of him, myself included, he was a wealthy antiques dealer who lived in the Mercer House.  He was part of Savannah's high society.  Somewhere around the '80s he lost control and killed Danny Hansford, his employee and lover.  He claimed self-defense.  It took four trials before Jim Williams was acquitted, and that was only because he was rich.  Anyone else would have gotten life or the death penalty.  Williams believed in voodoo and hired a priestess, Minerva, to help him with the jury.  Minerva warned him that there was still unfinished business with Danny, and she was right.  Jim Williams died of a heart attack at fifty-nine years old, only one month after his acquittal.

My Review: Berendt brilliantly paints a picture of two kinds of people from Savannah-the haves and the have nots.  Both groups collide throughout the book showing a world in which hypocrisy reigns and social standing is everything.  
His sarcasm and biting wit made me laugh at times.  I loved all of the places within Savannah he described, and wished I read the book before the trip and not after.  The book ends at Bonaventure Cemetery, which was ironically Peg's and my last stop on our vacation.  Loved the book and loved the city.  5/5 Stars.