I didn’t hate this one, but I didn’t love it either. This is not really the story I was expecting, but I think it came together okay. Biggest takeaways for me were the lack of “atmosphere” – half the reason I wanted to read this book was to feel like I was back in Savannah – and that the plot was just *too* neat.
After a night at Bo Peep’s bar in Savannah, Luke and his friend Stony go missing. Luke is found dead, burned alive in an abandoned building owned and chained shut by Guzman, a wealthy slumlord taking over Savannah. Guzman hires Morgana, the grandmother of one Jaq who bartends at Peeps, to prove his innocence in the murder of Luke. But Jaq knows the case is being mishandled by the police, and she, together with her entire southern dynasty family, endeavour to discover the truth of the matter.
This tale takes you to deep into the heart and history of Savannah, Georgia, and how those roots echo into the present. A story of family, and of corruption, blasts open the doors of a buried historical treasure.
The plot felt too neat to me because it felt quite literally orchestrated, without the messiness of genuine sleuthing. It was just too perfect and lacked a feeling of humanity. This mystery could’ve read a lot better, with a heightened sense of suspense, from a different author altogether. I didn’t love the overall execution of this novel.
Same goes with the atmosphere. With a title like that, I kind of assumed the city of Savannah might live and breathe like another character – but that too fell flat in my book. I enjoyed the commentary, which I will get to momentarily, but as for a feeling of “capturing the city”? I was not impressed. I think this book actually would’ve been a lot better for it, as well. The book is meant to play into some ideas about classism, racism, and corruption buried deep in the roots of Savannah. However, I think in order to make the reader truly connect and care about a piece of fiction in this way, we would need to feel some sort of connection to the city itself. Particularly because, in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to care about these characters. They were flat stand-ins and pawns meant to let the story play out and bring about a larger point, which is totally fine…but as I said, in that case, I need to give a shit about the city of Savannah for that larger point to feel appropriately heavy. And I did not.
Green simply lacks the ability to make me care for something on a human level through his prose, which is an absolute detriment to this book when it contains SO MUCH history and knowledge. This book is nothing if not well-researched, and thoroughly plotted to expose said research. In the hands of a better writer this novel could have been absolutely explosive. It’s a brilliant juxtaposition of the historical and the present, but it lacks a human element.
And all in all, I still have to tell you: I did like this book. I wished it were something more than itself, but I still think it’s a good read. It has depth if not originality. I would recommend it under the right circumstances.
Sorry to pick it apart and then tell you it might be worth reading – but I think these notes are important. Do check it out if you think the subject might interest you!
Happy reading!
The Charmed Librarian 