The Rev Willie J Maxwell is implicated in numerous suspicious deaths, holding life insurance payable for each individual; yet despite the circumstances, this black preacher from Alabama is not convicted on any count. ‘Big Tom’ Radley is Maxwell’s lawyer – although later Radney becomes defense to Maxwell’s murderer, as he is shot to death at the funeral of one of his ‘victims’. Harper Lee, local to Alabama, has the intention of writing Maxwell’s story; however, months, years and decades later her labour results in nothing, and she remains known only for To Kill A Mockingbird. A fascinating insight into the famously elusive Harper Lee, Furious Hours tells the story of her endeavours along with the story she set out to write. Fascinating.

Where to start?! This book is one of the most riveting non-fiction journeys I’ve ever been on. Cep thoughtfully and beautifully tells three tales in one: the suspected reverend (with nods to voodoo and an unbelievably engaging chapter on the history of life insurance... seriously!), the controversial lawyer and Harper Lee herself. If you love true crime, this is for you. If you love biographies of fascinating characters, this is for you. If you love To Kill a Mockingbird or In Cold Blood, this is for you! All in all, I have never devoured non-fiction in this way, and there must be a reason for that!

To Kill a Mockingbird remains one of my favourite books and contrary to many reviewers I was pleasantly surprised by Go Set a Watchman and one realises that Harper Lee's over exacting personal standard was our loss, as I'm sure she would have written many wonderful books. From the evidence of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood , which contained much work by his friend Harper Lee, we can also imagine that Lee's interest in writing true crime and in particular a series of murders that took place in Alabama in 1972, would also have been a fascinating read. So what happened? Harper Lee, never finished another book after Mockingbird (Watchman precedes it, in terms of when it was written) and she became something of a recluse. What Casey Cep has achieved is nothing short of a Lazarus-like resurrection of Harper Lee and a story that she obsessed over for years but never managed to finish. One can imagine that Harper Lee herself would be impressed with the attention to detail and the sympathetic treatment she has shown to the lives of all those involved. The book is separated into three distinct parts; The Reverent, The Attorney and The Writer, each one a book in itself, but all three lives are drawn together and indeliably marked by them. The final part, The Writer, is the story of Harper Lee's years after Mockingbird. Much has been written of Lee that is inaccurate, But Casey Cep goes to great lengths to keep what is known (which is hard with someone as reclusive as Lee), using her letters and correspondences and the small amount of people who knew her. Furious Hours is a must have read for anyone interested in the life of one of America's greatest writers, but it also works as a true crime murder mystery, much like Capote's In Cold Blood. If you haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird, do it now and then read Go Set a Watchman. Harper Lee may have only written two finished books, but her legacy as one of the great American novelists is undimmed.

This is one of those brilliant books that has a little bit of everything. True crime, history, sociology, biography and Harper Lee. What's better than that. This is the story of a man in Alabama in the 70s who was suspected of murdering several members of his family. The man himself was then murdered by someone wanting to put a stop to his abhorrent actions. This book covers the man, Reverand Maxwell, his (alleged but not really) crimes, and the trial of the man who killed him. It also focuses on Harper Lee and her struggle to write a book about the events. At the time, she had finished helping Truman Capote with his true crime classic, In Cold Blood, and was drawn by this story of murder and intrigue in her own state of Alabama. This is a fascinating read, I would recommend this to everyone.

Written in three parts Casey Cep has written the true crime novel Harper Lee had always wanted to write. Being a big fan of Scout and to Kill A Mockingbird I was thrilled to be given the chance to read Furious Hours. It's an amazing story and well written.