A Savage Wisdom is an imaginative reconstruction of the life of Toni Jo Henry, the only woman executed in Louisiana’s electric chair, for the 1940 Valentine’s Day slaying of a Houston businessman.
In a meticulous review in
Lagniappe, Brad Goins states that the novel is hardly over after Toni Jo's execution. The final section “shows how the actions of Toni Jo affect at least two subsequent generations. This part has the wildest plot twists I’ve encountered in fiction (and that’s coming from somebody who’s read lots of Balzac and Ed Lee).” Goins concludes his analysis, “Every two or three years, a work of exceptional literary merit comes out of Louisiana. This is one of the select group.”
Of the final section, a reader I don't know posted the following comment on the Facebook “fan” page of
A Savage Wisdom:
"I JUST finished reading
"A Savage Wisdom". I am emotionally SPENT! I totally forgot that it's fiction! And the finish...a total shock! I loved the book and hated it, all at the same time, but hated to put it down to cook a meal!"
By the final chapter, this "
study in deception" will have you reeling, and you will never look at
anyone (or yourself) the same again.
Buy the Kindle version of A Savage Wisdom