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Romance and mystery in Louisiana
White Lightning Road is the story of best friends, Jennifer James and Sally Jeffers, penned as a first contemporary novel by Harry E. Gilleland. The girls both are both city dwellers, relocated by family events to rural northern Louisiana. "No, Jenny did not consider the family's move to White Lightning Road to be a good trade. The sight of riverboats plying the Mississippi River was replaced with bass boats fishing area lakes. Trips to the Audubon Zoo were replaced by the hunting of deer with bow and arrow or high-powered rifles. Clothes shopping, once plentiful and convenient now required a road trip to Monroe to the east or Shreveport to the west.." Jenny and Sally become as best friends and confidants, but when they graduate, they both head back to the big city. Although separated by miles, their friendship endures long distance. Each marries, Sally twice and Jenny once, but both lose their respective spouses through divorce and death. Then tragedy strikes and Jenny has to return to White Lightning Road to settle her parent's estate after they are killed in an automobile wreck. Intrigue follows her as she goes through the memories at her former home. She meets Michael Garrot when he comes by and literally demands that she sell him her property. This is not the way to get what he wants from her, as he soon finds out. She learns that his background is fraught with mystery. The people in the area think he killed the drunk who ran down his wife and child. As the story unfolds, we learn about a predator stalking Jenny. He stalks and kills Jenny's little dog, Maxx. Jenny calls Michael to help her investigate the unpleasant incident. What happens to Jenny and Michael is the heart of Part One. Almost as an afterthought, Sally's story is told in Part Two. She transfers to Atlanta as the secretary of a vice president of the company and meets a man 9 years younger than she is and falls in love. After their love affair falls apart, she has to fight a sexual harassment suit against her boss. Her attorney is Michael's brother. This attorney/client relationship leads to a surprise ending for all of the main characters. For a first effort at a novel, this is a good one. Mr. Gilleland writes, alternately in the past and present tense, which is a bit unusual, but still interesting. You will enjoy the fast paced narrative and how the romance is interwoven into the mystery of the 'stalker'. Harry E. Gilleland was born and raised in Macon, Georgia and now lives in Shreveport, Louisiana with wife, Linda. Retired from a career as a Professor of Microbiology at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, he now devotes himself full-time to his writing.
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Anonymous
Posted May 10, 2006
One You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover
White Lightning Road by Harry E. Gilleland Jr. Reviewed by Ameasha Brown, Book Reviewer Here is a wonderfully written Mystery/Romance in the rural setting of northern Louisiana. Harry E. Gilleland Jr. takes you into the lives of two young women who are best friends, Jennifer James and Sally Jeffers. While growing up, each was an urban teenager whose family moved to White Lightning Road. They both longed for the life of the big city and upon graduation they returned to the city life they loved. Jennifer has been drawn back to White Lightning Road due to family tragedy, where she has lost both parents to a car accident caused by a drunk driver. She is back to the family homestead to finish tying up loose legal ends. It is here that she first encounters her infamous neighbour, Mr. Garrot, a suspected murderer. Her stress levels high and her emotional levels low, she becomes involved with Mr. Garrot in a most unusual way. Her heart tells her yes, but her head tells her no, as her life begins to weave more turmoil and confusion. Her best friend Sally is who she turns to for support. Sally is a single mom with a five year old son and she too experiences ups and downs in life that she shares with Jennifer. Sally wonders what the future holds for her. I found this book very enjoyable and hard to put down. I strongly recommend this book to those who want to escape their lives for a while and peek into the lives of the characters on White Lightning Road. For those who like a good mystery, it is an exceptional book. I found it an excellent read.
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Anonymous
Posted May 8, 2006
An Intriguing Tale of Mystery and Romance
Harry E. Gilleland, Jr. creatively takes the reader to a rural highway in Lincoln Parish in north central Louisiana and into the lives of two best friends. On White Lightning Road, Jennifer James and Sally Jeffers survive their boring rural lives together as displaced urban teenagers. Upon graduation, both girls escape back to their big city lives separated only by geographical distance. A family tragedy brings the girls back together once again on White Lightning Road. Jennifer finds herself in the midst of a mystery with her best friend by her side. Together they solve the mystery and find romance. Although the third-person and present tense format is somewhat distracting at first, I encourage the fact that this is a must-read. The characters are believable and the plot intriguing. The author presents you with a satisfying ending with a nice little twist.
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