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

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, Maxwells murderer was acquitted--thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the Reverend.

Sitting in the audience during the vigilantes 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 countrys most beloved writers and her struggle with fame, success, and the mystery of artistic creativity.

Author: Casey Cep

Language: English

Binding: Hardcover

Pages: 336

Publisher: Knopf

Publication Date: 2019-05-07