In reviewing White Lightning Road by Harry E. Gilleland, Jr., I found myself wanting to write the review by beginning with the ending. Why? Perhaps it is because the ending is one that most authors wish they could provide to their readers: unexpected, fulfilling, and destiny-in-motion. I sighed with contentment after reading the last page; there were no loose ends thanks to the author’s creative imagination and the way he entwined two separate stories and told them individually through Jennifer James and Sally Jeffers.

As teenagers both girls were uprooted from the big cities they loved when their respective families moved to Lincoln Parish in north central Louisiana and resided on White Lightning Road. Jenny and Sally became best friends; however, after they graduated from high school they went their separate ways, each returning to the big-city life. Jenny enrolled in Louisiana State University, and Sally married the first boy who proposed to her and moved to Dallas, Texas. The two keep in close touch.

Jenny graduated from LSU and married Randoll James who was killed in Iraq. Then she tragically loses both of her parents in an automobile accident. Returning home she and Sally spend some time together--Sally is visiting her parents, trying to nurse her wounds from a second failed marriage.

Jenny becomes involved with Michae Garrott, a man whose wife and young daughter had been killed four years earlier in an auto accident. The driver had tested positive for drugs but served only one year in jail before receiving probation. Michael told everyone how unfair he thought the sentence was and, when the driver turned up dead with three bullet holes to his heart only a week after his release, people assumed that Michael was responsible.

At first Jenny, too, thought Michael could be a murderer and was uncomfortable being around him. However, after getting to know him better, she became convinced that he was innocent. They quickly became friends--then lovers. But all was not perfect as Jenny discovered clues that clearly pointed to him as being deceptive…possibly even a murderer. Had she really slept with someone who had taken another man’s life? Could she ever trust him?

When Sally gets a secretarial job promotion and moves to Atlanta with her son, she meets and falls in love with Bill, a younger man who is still in college. Though Sally tells herself that it won’t work, Bill is persistent and upon graduation presents her with an engagement ring. Sally wants so much to have the “happily-ever-after” marriage that has eluded her thus far. When introduced to Bill’s mother, she is suddenly faced with the “other woman” in Bill’s life—a woman with determined plans for her son. The plans do not include Sally as his wife. Then, weeks later, when she completes a major project for her boss, a private celebration lunch turns into a sexual proposition. It is a situation that eventually requires her to use the services of an attorney as well as her own investigative skills. During the time in Atlanta, she keeps in constant touch with Jenny who still lives on White Lightning Road...their lives are going in different directions but, nevertheless, are entwined and following paths that will eventually reunite them in a strange twist of fate.

Though the writing is written in a rather simplistic style, the characters are very believable, and the storyline moves at a good pace. I did find myself somewhat distracted by the story being told in third person with the usage of present tense. Overall, White Lightning Road is a good read, and it is the hoped that this first novel by the author will be followed by many more.

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. I gave it six stars.

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.