Explore Savannah's Mystique with John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Sara Cabrol: I dare the reader to not somehow fall in love with Savannah while reading this book. The author embedded himself in the society of Savannah and not only was in town at the time of the murder, but already knew all the players in the unfolding drama. He was perfectly placed for the reporting of this story, including the years of trials and appeals, the high society backstabbings, legal maneuvers, and the seedy world that lurks below the surface.

Highly entertaining, vividly descriptive, and shocking.

PG13 for some violence and general debauchery.

United States on Nov 07, 2023

Amazon Customer: I wanted to like it but couldn't finish it. It's somewhat boring.

United Kingdom on Nov 06, 2023

Kindle Customer: Great story involving a murder in the upper crust of Savannah, GA. The city is as much a character as the characters that weave in and out of the telling of this tale. There is a great blend of people that are chapters both in the book and the telling of the tale. All the quirks and prejudices are blended into a great recount of city that becomes as much a victim of the society driven citizenry as the ultimate victim in the story.

United States on Oct 31, 2023

R G HUTTON: Having been in a recent visit to Savannah and visiting Mercer House, this book enthralled me with its description of this city, the streets, the characters, and the way of life. So much better than the movie.

United Kingdom on Oct 21, 2023

Julie R.: Book is great, well written: its a while since a book has drawn me in so much that I keep saying "just one more chapter then I'll go to bed/do some work etc".

But Amazon, you need to sort out whomever you use locally. Not for the first time the parcel was just dropped the other side of the driveway gate, 3 feet down: no attempt to open gate, come to the door, even though I was obviously in the house. And yet the delivery report is "handed to customer". No, it was not and the same white van as before sped away before I could catch him.

I would have given feedback on your comments Page Amazon, but , perhaps deliberately, you make that hard to do so instead i am shaming you here for having driver who is being lazy and lying. Not that it will make any difference....

United Kingdom on Aug 21, 2023

Alan and EmilyAlan and Emily: 3.5 stars out of 5 for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt has been on best-seller lists and was described as a modern classic, so I perhaps expected too much. I found the beginning of the novel to be kind of hard to get into, and the storyline was all over the place, with many different characters who didn’t seem to be part of the main murder plot. That all made more sense once I remembered that the novel was based on real people and events, but I wish the story was more focused, with dates included at the beginning of the chapters to help readers better follow the timeline.

Midnight does have some very interesting characters, though, including drag queen Chablis and voodoo priestess Minerva. The descriptions of Savannah are also memorable, especially since I visited Savannah for the first time when I was about halfway through the book.

The ending seemed sad and anti-climatic, but that’s not surprising in a book based on real life with few likable characters. I would describe the overall story as interesting rather than entertaining. I did enjoy the peek into the history of...

United States on Jul 23, 2023

docrobert: This was a fun read driven primarily by the eccentric characters found in the city of Savannah which itself is an unusual, if not eccentric southern city with its own distinctive flavor. Although the author pushes the limits of believability for some of the characters, his descriptions have enough of a truthful ring that one can actually embrace a witch doctor, a drag queen, a lying, cheating, good timing' ole boy and a whole host of high society folks for whom appearance is everything as being credible to a "true" story. The phrase "stranger than fiction" certainly is part of this reading experience. The fact that these characters revolve around a murder-mystery adds to the interest, even intrigue. I can certainly understand why tourism in Savannah suddenly spiked after this book was published.

United States on Jul 12, 2023

Julie Morris: It has taken me a long time to get round to writing a review of this book that I read back in February, having been meaning to read it for a good few years, because I have just been unable to put into words how I really feel about it. I don't think this is necessarily a negative, more a reflection of how this book has pushed me outside of my normal comfort zone in the types of book I usually choose. This book is very different to almost anything else you will read - a blurred line between fiction and non-fiction, between novel and travel writing, almost impossible to categorise.

This is based on real-life events that took place in the 1980s, although some of the 'facts' have been called into question and the author admits that the time line has been altered to make for a better narrative. However, it is a great example of the cliche that 'facts are stranger than fiction' and, if we weren't made aware that the basis of the story was true, you would believe that it came entirely from the over-active imagination of the author.

This is a book of two distinct halves and, to me, felt slightly disjointed because of this. The first half is quite slow and a little heavy-going...

United Kingdom on Jan 15, 2018

BobH: It is not often that I laugh out loud at a book but Berendt's masterpiece got that reaction more than once. It's a cavalcade of grotesques to rank alongside those of Dickens or Rabelais and no wonder it's transformed interest its subject, Savannah. That city indeed, is its true subject and not the tawdry tale of Jim Williams - and thereby hangs the major difference between book and film.

I'd heard of the book but it was viewing the film (1997) that caused me to buy and devour the book. How fortunate in being able to see the same story so successfully treated in two genres. But is it the same story? Not quite.

Clint Eastwood's direction is full of colour and yet it is centred on the murder of Billy Hanson by Jim Williams. The victim is well played by Jude Law and the horror of his last smile will haunt me for some time. However, it is Kevin Spacey who hypnotises the audience in his portrayal of the wealthy, and menacingly calm, Williams. The other character to remain with me for some time is that of the Lady Chablis, an over-the-top cameo if ever there was. Essentially the film is a mixture of comedy and thriller, set in a colourful city, which culminates in a...

United Kingdom on Nov 22, 2011

jmk444: I thought John Berendt did a very good job of weaving a rich tapestry of eccentric characters and a fascinating setting, into an original true crime story. The book is based on an actual murder that set the precedent for OJ Simpson's defense, that is challenging the police and Medical Examiner's handling of the crime scene evidence.
Berendt spent eight years in Savannah, researching the book that originally started out as an article and it shows! In fact, maybe it shows too much...that is, what I gather, most of his critics have a problem with - INFO DUMP. Berendt does give reams of background material, but I never found it slow going. After reading this book you could picture Savannah and Berendt spun the same kinds of word pictures of each character. You'd swear you knew them all after reading this book.
Jim Williams, a wealthy antiques and collectibles dealer, was charged with the murder of his live-in assistant (and part time male prostitute) Danny Hansford and the trial set off a local firestorm.
As in the OJ case there were no witnesses - Williams charged self-defense, the prosecutor charged murder and the case went to trial...FOUR TIMES!
The original sticking...

United States on Apr 04, 2002