As soon as I heard that this was a case which had inspired Harper Lee, then it was a given I was going to read it. A fascinating account of a novelist examining a real life case with the aim of writing a novel.This is a non-fiction account of that research but with a fictional element to it which really brings it to life.
The case of the preacher, was going to end up in a book called The Reverend. Readers were eager to read something else from Harper Lee given the success of “To Kill a Mocking Bird.” She’d already helped Truman Capote to research “In Cold Blood” and now, this was her turn. We learn that she was keen to get it right and make it more factual than Truman’s book.
They say truth is stranger than fiction and I think that this case and this book proves the point. In the case of The Reverend, Willie Maxwell, a preacher is shot at a funeral. The funeral is for a girl who people suspect is one in a long line of people he’s murdered for the insurance money. Now the girl’s uncle, Robert Lewis Brown, shots the man dead. This is the story of his trial…
Tom Radney. Is his lawyer. Tom was also the Lawyer for the dead man…

This ticks so many boxes as it’s about a real life case, a real life case of intrigue and add Harper Lee into the mix and you have the makings of a fascinating story and trial. Yet the book goes so much further than this as it builds a rich and complex picture of the growth of the American insurance industry,American politics, attitudes in the deep south and so much more. The belief in and use of Voodoo was a particular source of interest here and it was fascinating to see how these beliefs affected and coloured all others aspects of life. A trial in the deep south was very reminiscent of Harper Lee’s books but even she probably couldn’t have written such a strange yet compelling plot.

This is apparently a debut and if it is, it’s pretty darn spectacular. It’s rich in history and story, characters and setting, threads of fact and fiction weave to create a compelling picture.
And that added frisson when you realise that Harper Lee was there, documenting it all.
Highly recommended.