Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee

by Casey Cep

ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2019

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2019 BY Time, LitHub, Vulture, Glamour, O Magazine, Town and Country, Suspense Magazine, Inside Hook

New York Times Best Seller
 
“Compelling . . . at once a true-crime thriller, courtroom drama, and miniature biography of Harper Lee. If To Kill a Mockingbird was one of your favorite books growing up, you should add Furious Hours to your reading list today.” —Southern Living
 
Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell’s murderer was acquitted—thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the Reverend.
 
Sitting in the audience during the vigilante’s trial was Harper Lee, who had traveled from New York City to her native Alabama with the idea of writing her own In Cold Blood, the true-crime classic she had helped her friend Truman Capote research seventeen years earlier. Lee spent a year in town reporting, and many more years working on her own version of the case.

Now Casey Cep brings this story to life, from the shocking murders to the courtroom drama to the racial politics of the Deep South. At the same time, she offers a deeply moving portrait of one of the country’s most beloved writers and her struggle with fame, success, and the mystery of artistic creativity.

• ISBN10: 1101947861
• ISBN13: 9781101947869
• Publish Date: 7 May 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Alfred A. Knopf
• Format: Hardcover (Deckle Edge)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781101947869

Reviews

[Beth C.]

I didn't read To Kill a Mockingbird until my early 40's. At the time, I was well aware that Harper Lee didn't publish anything else, and of course I'm aware of the brouhaha around the publication of her second book (actually the first she had written). But the idea that she was thinking of writing a true crime novel? Kind of fascinating. And so is this book. I picked it up just to read the first couple of chapters so I can discuss with customers, and...well...here I am finishing it.

The book is divided into two parts, really. The first is that of the alleged serial killer that Lee was interested in. And boy, is that bit crazy. And absolutely fascinating. The second half discusses more about Lee's life, gets into the trips she made to research the true crime book, and then goes basically until she passes away. I feel like a lot of that may already be common knowledge, but the author does write from the viewpoint of trying to ascertain why this book Lee was so excited about, this true crime story she researched so thoroughly, never went anywhere.

Overall, it's quite an interesting look at both an author who became a recluse, and the story she never ended up finishing.