Whisper to the Black Candle: Voodoo, Murder, And the Case of Anjette Lyles

A must read for Georgia natives who love true crime!

I bought this book for my wife, who was dying to get a copy of it. After she finished it, I picked it up a couple of days ago and could not put it down. Jaclyn Weldon White does an outstanding job of detailing one of the most well-known Georgia murder cases of all-time - the Anjette Lyles case. Do yourself a favor and read this book - it would make one helluva movie.

Murdering your husband, maybe even your second husband can be somewhat understandable, though totally NOT all right. Even your mother-in-law may drive you insane enough to kill. But Anjette's did not, they just earned her money through their deaths... but why her own daughter? She was so young. Anjette herself was a successful woman and loved by everyone. Was it her enchantment with magic or money, or both? Read this book, you will finish it the first night and be glad you did.

As an avid true crime reader, Whisper to the Black Candle was a story that held my fascination. Jacklyn Weldon White makes familiar the townspeople in Macon Georgia in the 50's. We come to know Anjette Lyles, a woman who poisoned her husbands, her mother-in-law and her own daughter. Was she a woman gone mad, or a brilliant actress consumed with greed? Find out for yourself in this intriguing story!

Jacqlyn White has taken an older crime set in the 50's, breathed new life into the story, and made it relevant for avid true crime readers. The story is unbiased and has just the right spin on it at the end to enflame our emotions. It is also a interesting venture into the segragated South, all male jurors, distinct social classes, and racial divisions. A very unique tale of a manipulative woman who doled out death sentences to her own family members for personal gain, but ultimately conned the judicial system and escaped her own punishment of death by electrocution.

Anjette Lyles, a popular and well-known restaurant owner, was accused of murdering two husbands, a mother-in-law, and her 9-year-old daughter by arsenic poisoning in the 1950's in Macon,Georgia. This fascinating account of the murders, the investigation and the trial accurately portrays the criminal justice process of the time and the beweildering personality of Anjette Lyles. Anyone interested in the investigation and prosecution of murder cases and their impact on their communities will enjoy this book.