Casey Cep signs ‘Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee’ at Garden District Book Shop

If you missed watching the intriguing story of famed author Harper Lee’s desire to write a true crime novel at CBS’ “Sunday Morning” on April 28, 2019, it’s all based on a new book by Casey Cep. And the author will be visiting New Orleans this week, discussing and signing books from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 12, at Garden District Book Shop.

Here’s the book’s description:

The Rev. Willie Maxwell was a rural Alabama 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 17 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.

If you want to learn more, be sure and watch the "Sunday Morning" episode by clicking here.

Louisiana Book News is written by award-winning author Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is FREE to download as an ebook, including "Emilie," book one of The Cajun Series, "Ticket to Paradise," book one of The Cajun Embassy series and "A Ghost of a Chance," the first Viola Valentine mystery.