Williamsburg Regional Library

Furious hours, murder, fraud, and the last trial of Harper Lee, Casey Cep

eng

Includes bibliographical references and bibliography (pages [449]-511)

contains biographical information

illustrationsmapsplates

no index present

non fiction

Furious hours

text large print

bibliography

1100351008

Casey Cep

murder, fraud, and the last trial of Harper Lee

"The stunning true story of an Alabama serial killer, and the trial that obsessed the author of To Kill a Mockingbird in the years after the publication of her classic novel--a complicated and difficult time in her life that, until now, has been very little examined. Willie Maxwell was a Baptist reverend in Alabama; he also happened to be a serial killer. Between 1970 and 1977, his two wives and brother all died under suspicious circumstances -- each with hefty life insurance policies taken out by none other than the Reverend himself. With the help of a savvy lawyer, Maxwell escaped justice for years. Then, the teenage daughter of his third wife perished. At the funeral, the victim's uncle shot the Reverend dead in a church full of witnesses--and was subsequently acquitted of the murder, thanks to the same savvy lawyer who had represented the Reverend for all those years. Sitting in the audience during the trial was Harper Lee, who had traveled from New York to her native Alabama with an idea of writing a book about the case. Now, Casey Cep brings this nearly inconceivable, gripping story to life on the page: from the shocking murders to the chicanery of insurance fraud to the courtroom drama. At the same time, it is a vividly told, elegiac account of Harper Lee's quest to write a second book after To Kill a Mockingbird, and a deeply moving portrait of this beloved writer's struggle with fame, success, and the mysteries of artistic creativity"--, Provided by publisher

Prologue -- The Reverend. Divide the waters from the waters ; Minister of the Gospel ; Death benefits ; Seventh son of a seventh son ; Just plain scared ; No exception to the rule -- The lawyer. Who's in the stew? ; Roses are red ; The fight for good ; The Maxwell house ; Peace and goodwill ; Tom volume Tom ; The man from Eclectic ; What Holmes was talking about -- The writer. Disappearing act ; Some kind of soul ; The gift ; Deep calling to deep ; Death and taxes ; Rumor, fantasy, dreams, conjecture, and outright lies ; Coming back until doomsday ; Horseshoe Bend ; The long good-bye -- Epilogue

adult