Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13389 in Books
• Published on: 1995-06-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Synopsis
The best non-fiction novel since "In Cold Blood" is a true story of intrigue, murder, forgery and eccentricity set in the steamy, surreal atmosphere of Savannah, Georgia. The unpredictable twists and turns of a murder case are skilfully interwoven with a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South.

Customer Reviews

more good than evil
Thoroughly enjoyed this and you will too if you like an unpredictable novel with a slowish pace and strong characterization. The descriptions were so vivid I felt I knew Savannah by the time I'd finished (would love to go now). I think the slow pace at the beginning cleverly suggests the lazy and languid way of life in the south and is not meant as a criticism, stay with it the pace speeds up.

Just doesn't get any better
Loved this book. I had no idea what it was about since I hadn't seen the movie and had avoided the hype years ago. Now, reading it for the first time, I'm amazed. I wasn't too excited at first--the first half of the book is just okay; entertaining but nothing that great, but the second half took off and just flew! This book got me reading more southern American literature and I came across a fantastic book called "Bark of the Dogwood" by J.T.McCrae which was actually just as good as "Midnight."

"Midnight" is probably the only book on the bestseller list I've read that deserved to be there. Jim Williams is an amazing character, and a real person, or was. We will never know the real truth of what happened (don't want to give away the plot), but even so, it makes for one heck of an entertaining read. Would also recommend the books "Prince of Tides" by Conroy and "Bark of the Dogwood" for two other southern books that don't pull any punches.

Intense book
When I first encountered this book, I'd not read any reviews and the movie had not yet been made. So I was totally unaware of what was going to happen. I enjoyed the first half of the book, but the writing and story really came alive for me in the second half. I'd half-way guessed something like this might be coming, and sure enough, Berendt confirmed it. Add this one to the "keeper" pile because you'll want to read it again and again.