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

June 08, 2010

I've read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil before but it has been a long time, so it was fun reading it for my mystery book club this past month. I wasn't sure how they would like it since they are really into cozy mysteries, but they loved it and we had a wonderful discussion about the book.

The book is based on a true story out of Savannah, Georgia. Though not a mystery in the traditional sense, it is a very intriguing look at murder, and motives, and social acceptance. Berendt paints a very descriptive picture of Savannah and it's society in the 1980's. It is a community that doesn't like change and doesn't want to expand outside of its little niche. They are slow to accept strangers and like it that way.

The book takes awhile to paint a picture before getting to the murder. Once there, 8 years of trials and mistrials are run through, though not too fast that you don't get a good idea of each player and their motives and feelings. This is a wonderful story, very gripping and hard to put down.

Karen W.