Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

On May 2, 1981, in the foggy early hours of the morning, shots rang out in Savannah's greatest home. Was it self-defense or murder? The shooting and its aftermath echoed through this city of shaded squares and moss-hung oaks for over ten years. Although John Berendt's tale is factual, it reads like an utterly captivating book. A first-person narrative of life in this remote outpost of the Old South is woven together by Berendt with the erratic turns of a historic murder investigation.

A wide range of fascinating characters appear in the story: the refined society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the erratic young redneck gigolo; the unfortunate recluse who possesses a poison bottle that could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the boisterous black drag queen; the snarky and conceited antiques dealer; the charming and gregarious con artist; the charming and gregarious young con artist; the charming and sultry black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who performs her magic in the cemetery at midnight. As Berendt reveals the friendships, rivalries, and intrigues that flourish in a community where everyone knows everyone else, they and other Savannahians serve as a Greek chorus.