When we first meet Will, the hero of Alibis of the Heart, by Darryl Sollerh, he's opening an envelope containing pictures of his wife in the arms of another man. As a lawyer in a big Chicago law firm, he knows just what to do -- cut his losses and teach her a legal lesson she won't forget. It's not an easy move, however; and Will's leave-taking of the apartment they share is harder than he thought it would be. Will is headed south to the Okefenokee swamp, to a little town by that name in Georgia where he spent time as a boy. He carries a picture of himself and a man whosw back is turned away from him, with the swamp lands stretching out behind them. When Will arrives in town, he finds a small diner tucked into a strip mall where he gets a cup of coffee served by a sultry waitress named Jasmine who grabs his attention and won't let go.

Settle into an easy chair and start reading Alibis of the Heart, and you'll soon be drawn into the steamy torpor of the Georgia swamplands where this Southern novel is set. Author Darryl Sollerh deftly makes this natural setting come to life as Will sets up housekeeping in a small cabin situated on the edge of the swamp and is lulled to sleep at night by the sounds of nature outside. He's there to start a new life as a true-crime writer, and we experience his wide-eyed openness to his new environment as he learns about the series of murders in town and he finds himself more and more attracted to Jasmine, who seems quite a mystery herself. Darryl Sollereh's Alibis of the Heart is lyrical and filled with portent and intrigue, and I found myself captivated from the very first page all the way through to the very last word. It's a wonderful read.

Alibis of the Heart by Darryl Sollerh is a tale of a “Yankee” lawyer, in the process of getting a divorce, who heads south to write the Great American Crime Novel. He encounters the stereotypical inbred, ignorant, close-lipped, good-ole-southern-boys cliché, always suspicious of “northerners” invading their community. However, in this particular case they have good reason to be suspicious; the town of Okefenokee holds some deep, dark secrets. Replete with “Bubba’s Bar,” a greasy spoon diner, a single real estate office, and a Laundorama, Okefenokee looks – on the surface – like any of hundreds of other small southern towns. But prick the surface and you’ll find a festering cesspool of murder, wife beatings, drunken brawls, and rumors galore. Will Woods wanted to write his novel about a true crime. He figured he could make up some of the details nobody could possibly know, and turn it into an instant bestseller. All he really needed to get started was a sensational crime, preferably one that had never been solved. That, and somebody – anybody – who would talk to him about it.

Alibis of the Heart is an intriguing story. Every time you thought you knew who the killer was, another suspect would pop up, looking more suspicious than the previous suspect. When you finally learn the identity of the real killer, you will understand why Will never did write his book. There are some serious twists in this tale, and even some moments of satisfaction when various disgusting, disreputable, or dishonorable people get their comeuppance. In life there are certain personality types that people just love to see bad things happen to; in Alibis of the Heart, bad things DO happen to those people, and it is very satisfying when it happens.

This book was very captivating. The plot twists were so rapid I just couldn't put the book down. I really enjoyed it and the ending took me by surprise.