Tell you’re friends you’re busy! You’ve got… JURY DUTY!
Our latest pop-up book club theme is for fans of true crime shows, podcasts, and documentaries. Jury Duty, a True Crime Book Club, will host two reads this fall with our friends at Affogato Lane Coffee Co. (open after hours special for us!) and dive into the pages and cases of some notorious and high profile crimes.
Our September selection is Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee. Copies are available for checkout at the library desk; just ask! Food and drink will be available for purchase at the program.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
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. Lee had the idea of writing her own In Cold Blood, the true-crime classic she had helped her friend Truman Capote research. She 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 America’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.
