Casey Cep's 'Furious Hours' is a book that every Alabamian should read

Maryland author Casey Cep’s new book, “Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee,” is a book that every Alabamian should read.

Released on Tuesday by Knopf, this 308-page book tells the story of how Monroeville native Harper Lee spent years investigating one of the most unusual crimes in Alabama history, the 1977 murder of alleged “voodoo preacher” Willie Maxwell.

Lee, who is best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” personally researched this case with an eye toward publishing a true crime book about it, similar to Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood.” However, her book on the Maxwell case never came to be, and the many reasons why it never saw the light of day are thoroughly examined between the covers of Cep’s new book.

Prior to reading “Furious Hours,” I was only somewhat familiar with the Maxwell murder incident, and I found Cep’s description of those events to be enthralling. It’s cliché to say that such material was a “page-turner,” but in this case, it was very true. Not knowing much about the Maxwell case, the story read exactly like it was, like an unusual true-crime tale that is arguably one of the most bizarre criminal episodes in Alabama history.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Rev. Willie Maxwell, he was a handsome young minister who allegedly acquired wealth through a scam in which he insured and then killed a number of his relatives and associates. People in the community where he lived were terrified of him and many lived in fear that they would become one of his victims. Rumors of voodoo also surrounded Maxwell and many of his relatives and neighbors were afraid to even look him in the eye for fear that they’d fall under his deadly influence.

Many experts today consider Maxwell a bona fide serial killer, and he finally met his end when a Vietnam veteran in the community shot him to death in front of 300 witnesses at the funeral of his final victim. When the case went to trial, the jury found the shooter, Robert Burns, not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. Few in the community had little problem with the results of the trial, which is described in vivid detail by Cep.

I especially enjoyed the portions of Cep’s book about Harper Lee and Truman Capote. I’ve read quite a bit of biographical material about both of them over the years, but Cep surprised me with a lot of information about the two authors that I have never seen in print before. If you are a fan of Lee or Capote, “Furious Hours” is worth reading for that reason alone.

In the end, if you’re interested in reading this book or meeting author Casey Cep, you’ll get a rare opportunity later today (Thursday) during a “Meet the Author” event at the Old Monroe County Courthouse in Monroeville. The event, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. It will include a reading by the author and will be followed by a reception. Copies of “Furious Hours” will be on sale inside the museum’s gift shop.