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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.
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Creators
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Awards
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Release date
May 7, 2019 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780735208490
- File size: 324434 KB
- Duration: 11:15:54
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Narrator Hillary Huber uses a slow, even pace and authoritative tone in her narration of this twisted true-crime story set in Alabama. What makes this audiobook even more engaging is that it is also a literary biography of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD's Harper Lee, who leaves an unfinished manuscript based on the incidents. That manuscript, THE REVEREND, was supposed to be similar to Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD, a nonfiction novel, but Lee failed to capture the story. Huber allows both the tension and the anticipation of what might have been to color her delivery. This is likely not the book Lee would have written, but the strange twists and unbelievable outcome, and Huber's steady and professional delivery, are a pleasure. R.O. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
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