The Garden of Earthly Delights: A John Wesley O’Toole Novel

John Wesley O’Toole, a disbarred attorney-turned art dealer, continues to struggle in his effort to rebuild his shattered life after his release from prison. Having fallen in love with his girlfriend, Jenna, he quietly makes plans to propose marriage to her while on a romantic trip to Spain, surrounded by classical art in Madrid’s Prado museum. Jenna has her own shady past, and as they stand in front of Bosch’s magnificent sixteenth-century painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, she becomes emotional and begins to speak of Mindy, her best friend who disappeared without a trace years earlier. Nothing more is said, and the proposal is put on hold. Soon after the couple’s return to Savannah, Mindy’s skeletal remains are discovered in a shallow unmarked grave in the rural south Georgia countryside. O’Toole soon finds how little he knows of Jenna’s past and realizes that his wishes for a happy marriage will never happen unless the truth of Mindy’s death is revealed.

William Rawlings is a sixth-generation resident of Washington County, Georgia. A retired physician, he is an avid world traveler, photographer, and prolific writer of nine novels and six works of nonfiction focusing on Southern history. Rawlings has been twice awarded Finalist for Georgia Author of the Year in the field of History.