Casey Cep

The stunning story of an Alabama serial killer and the true-crime book that Harper Lee worked on obsessively in the years after To Kill a Mockingbird "A triumph on every level . . . Casey Cep has excavated this mesmerizing story and tells it with grace and insight and a fierce fidelity to the truth." --David Grann, best-selling author of Killers of the Flower Moon 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.

Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee

Furious Hours

Casey N. Cep

"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"--

Jeff Brown 

3.5. When you put Harper Lee in the title of a book, don’t make people work through half the book before bringing Lee into the story.

The first two parts were rather stale. The first part dealt with a man nicknamed “The Reverend” who killed five people and committed insurance fraud.

He was killed at the funeral of the fifth victim (Part Two). He used the same defense attorney used in the above story.

If you have never read a true-crime story, or if you wanted to know E-V-E-R-Y-thing one could possibly learn about life insurance and fraud, Part One was for you.

And if you have never watched a trial-based TV show where the two attorneys try to out-ass the other, or haven’t seen the defense used in second case, Part Two was up your alley.

I do admit the part about Alabama political history was good — it was about much more than George Wallace.

Otherwise, it was as if the publisher said that you are to write at least 50% of the book before bringing in Harper Lee — much like this review.

When Lee is introduced, the author shined! She went into even more excruciating detail about Lee than for the subjects in the first half of the book — AND YOU WANTED MORE!!! It was like the gates were unlocked and the emotions just poured out.

You felt like you lived your life as Harper Lee. You churned out those “Furious Hours” right beside her. You feared the publicity and expectations with her. And you went deep into her attempt to be honest with her true-crime book, unlike Truman Capote. Trying and trying to fill the holes with facts in the book-to-be, “The Reverend”.

If I could say to skip the first half of the book, I would. But I can’t. All I can say is suck it up because it will pay off in the end.

Jeremy Anderberg

“Seventeen years had passed since she’d published To Kill a Mockingbird and twelve since she’d finished helping her friend Truman Capote report the crime story in Kansas that became In Cold Blood. Now, finally, she was ready to try again.”

The story of Harper Lee — and more specifically why she was a literary one-hit wonder — has long interested readers, historians, and even Lee’s friends and family. There were a number of fits and starts in the decades after TKAM was published, and though she never stopped writing, Lee could never pull together a story she was happy with.

In Furious Hours, debut author Casey Cep tackles the mystery of one of those stories that Lee tried to write.

Lee was drawn to crime tales; while I tend to remember TKAM as a coming-of-age morality tale, it certainly falls into the crime genre. And her influence on the crime book of the 20th century — In Cold Blood — has been criminally under-appreciated. So of course the story of Alabama’s murderous preacher caught her attention, and doubly so when that preacher was shot and killed in front of an audience.

Cep first relates the story of Reverend Willie Maxwell himself. A handful of family members wound up dead with Maxwell as the beneficiary in multiple shady life insurance policies. Authorities — and those defrauded insurance companies — caught on pretty quickly, but nobody could ever firmly pin any evidence on the slippery man. Finally, one man in the community had enough, and shot Maxwell in the head at point blank range . . . at a funeral.

It’s then that Cep writes Harper Lee’s story. Her numerous struggles with writer’s block, the generous gift that allowed her to finally write full-time, her even bigger struggles with success (“the better To Kill a Mockingbird fared, the worse its author seemed to”), and the ultimately fruitless quest for the next book.

Harper thought she finally had it with the Maxwell story. She tried diligently for years to put it together, splitting her time between her New York City apartment and her small home in Monroeville, Alabama. But, for a number of reasons, the pages never came together.

The brilliance of Cep’s book is that she tells the Maxwell story that Harper wanted to, while also compassionately conveying the narrative of Lee herself. It’s written like the best true crime books (a la I’ll Be Gone in the Dark), but with a dash of biography and literary mystery thrown in. Her prose caught my attention right away and it never once left off from that initial high. I can’t recommend Furious Hours enough.

This is a weird mash-up of a book. I thought it was going to be about how Harper Lee covered a trial and that she somehow played a significant role in the case or media surrounding it. That doesn't seem to be what it was about at all. This was mainly about the case itself, then jumped into a weird second half mainly about Harper Lee's life and biography.

The book itself isn't bad. I just think it covers too much. We go from the case at hand, to the history of life insurance, then an entire section of biography about Lee, and then it feels more like Truman Capote than Lee. It doesn't focus on Lee and it doesn't deliver what the subtitle seems to promise. It is a case where the publisher mis-marketed a book to try to jump on the "Go Set a Watchman" wave with Lee.

'A triumph on every level. One of the losses to literature is that Harper Lee never found a way to tell a gothic true-crime story she'd spent years researching. Casey Cep has excavated this mesmerizing story and tells it with grace and insight and a fierce fidelity to the truth.' DAVID GRANN, author of Killers of the Flower Moon _____________________________ The stunning story of an Alabama serial killer and the true-crime book that Harper Lee worked on obsessively in the years after To Kill a Mockingbird 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. As Alabama is consumed by these gripping events, it's not long until news of the case reaches Alabama's - and America's - most famous writer. Intrigued by the story, Harper Lee makes a journey back to her home state to witness the Reverend's killer face trial. Harper had the idea of writing her own In Cold Blood, the true-crime classic she had helped her friend Truman Capote research. Lee spent a year in town reporting on the Maxwell case and many more years trying to finish the book she called The Reverend. 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. This is the story Harper Lee wanted to write. This is the story of why she couldn't. _____________________________ 'Fascinating ... Cep has spliced together a Southern-gothic tale of multiple murder and the unhappy story of Lee's literary career, to produce a tale that is engrossing in its detail and deeply poignant... [Cep] spends the first third of Furious Hours following the jaw-dropping trail of murders ... Engrossing ... Cep writes about all this with great skill, sensitivity and attention to detail.' SUNDAY TIMES 'It's been a long time since I picked up a book so impossible to put down. Furious Hours made me forget dinner, ignore incoming calls, and stay up reading into the small hours. It's a work of literary and legal detection as gripping as a thriller. But it's also a meditation on motive and mystery, the curious workings of history, hope, and ambition, justice, and the darkest matters of life and death. Casey Cep's investigation into an infamous Southern murder trial and Harper Lee's quest to write about it is a beautiful, sobering, and sometimes chilling triumph.' HELEN MACDONALD, author of H is for Hawk 'This story is just too good ... Furious Hours builds and builds until it collides with the writer who saw the power of Maxwell's story, but for some reason was unable to harness it. It lays bare the inner life of a woman who had a world-class gift for hiding ... [this] book makes a magical leap, and it goes from being a superbly written true-crime story to the sort of story that even Lee would have been proud to write.' MICHAEL LEWIS, author of Moneyball and The Big Short

Pam Sartain

My review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Furious Hours by Casey Cep is a book of many tales, all of which tie up together, but knowing what's going on makes it so much more interesting! 

The first is the life and trial of Reverend Willie Maxwell, who is accused of killing five family members for the multiple insurance policies he had on each of them. 

The second is Maxwell's lawyer, Tom Radney, who goes on to defend Robert Burns, who murders Maxwell. Radney was a politician, and so was well versed in public speaking, persuading your listeners to your cause, which you can see in the courtroom.

The third is that of Harper Lee. We go through her life, and see her friendship with Truman Capot, it talks about why she only published two books in her lifetime. It also looks at how she went to the trial of Robert Burns, planning to write a book about it, in the same way that Truman Capote did in Cold Blood, for which Lee was his assistant.

This is Casey Cep's first book, but she has written articles before for the New Yorker, and others, and some of them have been about Harper Lee, and as Cep says on her website, she's loved Lee's work since she was a child.

I thought this was really well written, and has made me want to read both To Kill a Mockingbird again and Go Set a Watchman for the first time! If you like true crime, and learning a little more about such a reluctant celebrity, this is for you!

Furious Hours was published on 16th May 2019, and is available to buy on Amazon and on Waterstones. I've found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Random House UK and Cornerstone (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Zoe Smolen

I really loved this book. Cep did a great job weaving together three stories and making a comprehensive book out of the different pieces. It's a great read for those interested in true crime or those interested in literature. It's the perfect read for those who are interested in BOTH true crime and literature. 

Thanks to Penguin First to Read for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jason Steele

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Abby Byers

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION A BARACK OBAMA BOOK OF THE YEAR A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR A SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A triumph on every level. One of the losses to literature is that Harper Lee never found a way to tell a gothic true-crime story she'd spent years researching. Casey Cep has excavated this mesmerizing story and tells it with grace and insight and a fierce fidelity to the truth.' DAVID GRANN, author of Killers of the Flower Moon _____________________________ The stunning story of an Alabama serial killer and the true-crime book that Harper Lee worked on obsessively in the years after To Kill a Mockingbird 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. As Alabama is consumed by these gripping events, it's not long until news of the case reaches Alabama's - and America's - most famous writer. Intrigued by the story, Harper Lee makes a journey back to her home state to witness the Reverend's killer face trial. Harper had the idea of writing her own In Cold Blood, the true-crime classic she had helped her friend Truman Capote research. Lee spent a year in town reporting on the Maxwell case and many more years trying to finish the book she called The Reverend. 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. This is the story Harper Lee wanted to write. This is the story of why she couldn't. _____________________________ 'Fascinating ... Cep has spliced together a Southern-gothic tale of multiple murder and the unhappy story of Lee's literary career, to produce a tale that is engrossing in its detail and deeply poignant... [Cep] spends the first third of Furious Hours following the jaw-dropping trail of murders ... Engrossing ... Cep writes about all this with great skill, sensitivity and attention to detail.' SUNDAY TIMES 'It's been a long time since I picked up a book so impossible to put down. Furious Hours made me forget dinner, ignore incoming calls, and stay up reading into the small hours. It's a work of literary and legal detection as gripping as a thriller. But it's also a meditation on motive and mystery, the curious workings of history, hope, and ambition, justice, and the darkest matters of life and death. Casey Cep's investigation into an infamous Southern murder trial and Harper Lee's quest to write about it is a beautiful, sobering, and sometimes chilling triumph.' HELEN MACDONALD, author of H is for Hawk 'This story is just too good ... Furious Hours builds and builds until it collides with the writer who saw the power of Maxwell's story, but for some reason was unable to harness it. It lays bare the inner life of a woman who had a world-class gift for hiding ... [this] book makes a magical leap, and it goes from being a superbly written true-crime story to the sort of story that even Lee would have been proud to write.' MICHAEL LEWIS, author of Moneyball and The Big Short

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

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