Grab Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, And The Last Trial Of Harper Lee Authored By Casey Cep Digital

into three parts, Furious Hours tells the true story of Alabama serial killer the Reverend Willie Maxwell, In thes he was accused of murdering five family members in order to collect the life insurance money, With the help of a very clever lawyer, although rumour had it that Maxwell used voodoo to aid his success he escaped justice, but at the funeral of his last victim, he was shot dead by one Robert Burns.


The first part of the book illustrates the life of Willie Maxwell, the murders, the fear that he induced in the community because he was thought to use voodoo, and the revelation that he took out insurance policies on almost everyone he had close contact with.


The second part introduces Maxwells lawyer Tom Radney who strangely also represented Maxwells killer, and despite there being hundreds of witnesses in the church, Robert Burns walked free.
Present at Burns trial was none other than Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird, She kept a low profile and spent a year gathering material for a book she was to write about this strange case, but it was a book that never came to fruition.


The third part of the book tells the story of Harper Lee her relationship with Truman Capote, the choices she made that shaped her future, and the struggles that she had with her writing.


The author has painted a wonderfully in depth portrait of this great writer, and she also illustrates the cultural and political climate of the times, The research carried out to produce Furious Hours must have been immense the practice of law and the history of life insurance are just two of the things we learn about in great detail perhaps a little bit too much for me however it was a fascinating read that shone a spotlight on this somewhat mysterious writer, but I personally found the first part of the book featuring Willie Maxwell the most intriguing.


Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for my ARC, for which I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange Utterly brilliant, I was fascinated both by this tale of an actual serial killer in Alabama and his murder, and the desperate way that Harper Lee tried and failed to find in his story and trial her own second act.
Casey Cep is also a gifted stylist: this is a work of nonfiction written with elegance and beauty and grace, To Kill a Mockingbird remains one of my favorite novels, In a nonfiction reading year, I managed to reread it for the fourth time this spring, Naturally, when I noticed a new book that features Harper Lee, I had my curiosity piqued, Casey Cep is a debut author, who has studied literary fiction, Her impetus for this book is a discovering why Lee, who wrote one of the most beloved books in American history, only wrote one book, Cep takes readers back to a court trial in Lees native Alabama in, as Lee realized that she might have discovered the perfect material to write a second book,

Furious Hours is attributed to Harper Lees determination to publish a book or magazine article by its deadline, but the title and Lees involvement are misleading, Cep presents her findings in three parts, The first two focus on the crime, the criminal turned defendant Reverend Willie Maxwell, and his attorney, Alexander Citys leading lawyer Thomas Radney, The case itself is straightforward, Maxwell was a reverend who got caught up in insurance fraud and his greed got the best of him, Radney, who at one time could be thought of as a John Kennedy of Alabama and then turned lawyer, believed everyone was entitled to a lawyer and fair trial, Over the years, he represented Maxwell, when most people feared him and his motives, Their stories, despite being labeled as a true crime, moved slowly, perhaps as I grew impatient waiting for Lees involvement in them,

Harper Lee finally makes her appearance in the third section of the book, It appeared that Cep was more interested in writing about Lee than a Reverend gone bad and her bias is evident in this third section, Cep pours more emotions into writing about Alabamas favorite author, detailing her life, dissecting where truth becomes fiction, and returning to Mockingbird time and again, Whereas Lee might have been content having had one published book, the literary community for years clamored for more, With the Reverend Maxwells case, Lee found the perfect opportunity to return home from New York and craft a true crime story equal to her friend Truman Capotes In Cold Blood.
Even as Lee became charmed by Radney and Alexander Citys residents, a second book wasnt meant to be, Knowing this prior to reading Furious Hours, I had high expectations for Lees role in the book, Like the development of a new book, it wasnt meant to be,

Many writers are known for their one opus book and while readers may have desired additional novels, the writers for whatever reason only wrote the one book and moved on with their lives.
Harper Lee fits into this category of writers, yet her one book is often listed as the best American novel of all time, With her name in the title of a book, I was intrigued to read it and was left slightly disappointed, While Furious Hours may have lived up to its hype for many, for me it falls as flat as Harper Lees involvement in it, I hope for better material if Casey Cep pens a second book,

I must start by saying that Furious Hours is probably the best true crime work I have had the pleasure of reading it has so much more to it than one would initially imagine and that's what makes it such a gripping book.
It's an amalgamation of true crime, American history, legal thriller and biography of Harper Lee, which is a very interesting mix and works well, For many years Lee was obsessed with one particular case that of church minister Reverend Willie Maxwell, and set in the context of the time and places rural Alabama, United States it provides much thoughtprovoking information on the racial, political, cultural and societal circumstances at the time.


It's certainly very easy to get swept up in this story, and I indeed was, Part of my fascination, being a law graduate, was the trial of Reverend Maxwell's killer and seeing the differences in American law when compared to the British and the nuances of the system.
The case begins with murder and insurance fraud and from that point onwards the body count grows and grows, As it is a littleknown case it's one many people, including myself, will not have been aware of this is quite refreshing as most true crime books focus on infamous crimes and convicts.


The depiction of the deep south, also referred to as the gothic south, is vivid and evocative, and Casey Cep does a wonderful job of writing the book that Lee worked on for years after her most celebrated work, To Kill a Mockingbird, but could not finish.
Included is information on the development and growth of the insurance business, paying particular attention to life insurance which it is widely believed was the motive behind the Reverend's killing spree.
The irony of the lawyer, Tom Radney, who managed to get Maxwell acquitted, later repeats this in respect of Maxwell's killer, Robert Burns,

The first half focuses on the case and trial whilst the second discusses lawyer Tom Radney and the final section goes into detail about Harper Lee herself, Her struggle to become accustomed to the fame and fortune that comes with achieving bestseller status and her perfectionist tendencies which led to her being unable to complete and release this book in her lifetime as she'd planned.
I loved that we found out more than we ever have before about the enigmatic Ms Lee, All in all, this is a brilliantly compelling and wellstructured work of nonfiction and the engaging writing and touch of humour keep you turning the pages long after the sun goes down.
Many thanks to William Heinemann for an ARC, For anyone who loved To Kill a Mockingbird full disclosure: I've read it at least ten times and probably more, this book is an exploration of how Harper Lee was defeated in her attempt to follow in Truman Capote's footsteps and chronicle a true crime as he did with In Cold Blood.
The author follows three separate threads in the book, The first is the murder of Reverend Willie Maxwell who was shot and killed in front ofwitnesses at a funeral the second is an exploration of the life of the attorney who had defended Reverend Maxwell in one insurance fraud after another and then went on to defend the man who shot and killed him the third is a fascinating dive into the life of Harper Lee and what happened to her once she became a national and then international literary celebrity.
It answers the question: "Why did Harper Lee never write another novel" Go Set a Watchman being an earlier book that she never wanted

published, I've always thought that, having written To Kill a Mockingbird, what was there left to say As it turns out, there was plenty left, But, for all her charm, she was her own worst enemy, Terrific book. Seventeen years since the publication of, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee lat in a courtroom in Alabama, She was planning to write a true crime book about the case she was watching, but that book was never published, In this volume, author, Casey Cep, writes not only a compelling explanation as to why this book never appeared, but also combines true crime and biography, in a riveting account of a crime and the characters involved.


She begins by looking at the murder victim, the Reverend Willie Maxwell, whose exploits almost defy belief, Born in, Maxwell was a man who had a tendency to insure almost everyone within his orbit benefiting by their deaths, which seemed to happen with alarming regularity and in suspiciously similar circumstances.


The second character was lawyer, Tom Radney, who swopped from dealing with Maxwells, seemingly endless, insurance claims, to defending his killer, Through looking at Radney, Cep manages to incorporate the history and politics of the area, To my mind, the talk of sharecroppers, voodoo and unspoken segregation, spoke of an earlier age, and it was almost a shock to discover that this book took place, mostly in the Seventies.


Lastly, the author turns her attention to Harper Lee, looking at her life, her friendship with Truman Capote, and her first experience with writing true crime, when she was involved in the research for, “In Cold Blood.
” I knew very little about Harper Lee, so I think I found this the most interesting part of the book, although, to be honest, I was riveted by all of it.


It is hard to imagine that this is a debut, as it is so selfassured and well written, I trust that Casey Cep has further works planned, as she is an author to watch, A fascinating account of a crime, with excellent historical and literary background, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review and recommend it highly,

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