Gods in Alabama (edition 2007)

Picked this up somewhere and read first few pages, so when I saw it at elibrary, thought I'd give it a try. Was much better than I had anticipated from those first few pages.
Interesting premise, enjoyable to read and kept me turning pages, and never ever guessing many of the events as they unfolded and certainly not the final twists.
How love can be there, not be seen or recognized.
Part of me still wants to call the police, but then . . . it's much too late and . . . . ( )

This book was... alright. I could see the twists and turns in the plot well before they happened. I liked Arlene and Bur as a couple -- they felt pretty mailable, but the whole murder mystery started to annoy me. I'd recommend it as a one day read to someone who likes mystery/romance/suspense books... But it won't stay on my bookshelf at home. ( )

This is a light mystery written purely for entertainment purposes. It had drama, but lacked substance. I enjoyed her sequel audio book better (Back Seat Saints). ( )

Enjoyable story. Its unfolding is interesting and unexpected. Family relationships, cultural differences and personal growth all come together to make a good story. ( )

Joshilyn Jackson’s “gods in Alabama” is an emotional story of love, redemption and forgiveness. Set in the south, the book caters to our stereotypes of the south. Jackson may have overplayed the stereotypes however.

Having fled to Chicago ten years prior, Arlene is headed home to Possett, Alabama, with her black boyfriend in tow, to face the demons she left behind a decade prior.

The story is well written in the first person with Arlene as the narrator. Jackson alternates chapters with flashbacks to fill the reader in on Arlene’s past in Possett.

However, I felt the story bogged down a little in the middle. It took 6 chapters for Arlene to travel from Chicago to Alabama. I could have driven there in the time it took to read those chapters.

Also, I felt Jackson oversold the racist nature of Arlene’s family in Possett. When she arrived, I was expecting the sparks to fly when her dyed-in-the-wool racist family meets Arlene’s black fiancée. But instead of bringing out their white sheets and hats from the closet and preparing to burn crosses in the yard, Arlene’s family was very receptive of Arlene’s relationship with her fiancée.

The real story of the book is the estranged relationship between Arlene and her aunt Florence. Jackson does a great job with her characterization of both Arlene and Florence. The reader feels as if they know both intimately.

The male characters in the book are not as well drawn, and this is most likely intentional on the part of Jackson. Florence’s husband plays a backseat role in the story. Arlene’s mother, while in the story, barely exists. And I would like to have known more about Burr’s mother, Arlene’s future mother-in-law. She seemed such a wise and sweet lady, I wanted to know her better.

I enjoyed the book and would recommend it highly, especially to those who enjoy Southern fiction.