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True Crime

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee

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Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

Furious Hours is many things: a historical account of the actions of the “voodoo priest” Reverend Willie J. Maxwell of Coosa County, Alabama; a gripping retelling of the trial of Maxwell’s vigilante murderer Robert Burns; an ode to the lawyer that defended them both, Thomas “Big Tom” Radney; and the novel that Harper Lee never finished.

Cep takes readers back to 1970s Alabama to explore a story that made headlines and captivated news audiences across the country. In a span of a few short years, several of Reverend Maxwell’s family members and acquaintances died under suspicious circumstances, and Maxwell was left to collect the life insurance payments. Lacking sufficient evidence to explain the deaths, the town suspected Reverend Maxwell was using voodoo to kill his victims. Fed up with living in fear and frustrated by the inability of law enforcement to stop the carnage, Burns shoots Maxwell at the funeral of one of his victims.

After reading about these peculiar events, Harper Lee traveled back to her home state on a quest to write a best-selling, true-crime novel that was rooted in old-fashioned journalism and that steered clear of the “fact-bending” that was popular in non-fiction at the time. But, this novel never made it to press.

In Furious Hours, Cep pieces together the facts that still remain and offers an inside look at Lee during the years following the success of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Cep’s novel is informative and well-researched, and she gracefully recaptures the drama of the courtroom. Furious Hours is the debut novel of the Maryland native. Find it in the catalog.

The Library Book

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 New Material
The Library Book  by Susan Orlean
Publication Date: October 16, 2018
Format: eBook, Book, Audiobook
Who it’s for: Teens, Adults

“Filled with heart, passion, and unforgettable characters, The Library Book is classic Susan Orlean, and an homage to a beloved institution that remains a vital part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country and culture. The Library Book reopens the unsolved mystery of the 1986 fire at Los Angeles Public Library’s Central Library—the most catastrophic library fire in American history—and delivers a dazzling love letter to libraries as an institution. Weaving her life-long love of books and reading with the fascinating history of libraries and the sometimes-eccentric characters who run them, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean presents a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling story as only she can. Along the way, she reveals how these buildings provide much more than just books — and that they are needed now more than ever.” – Publisher’s blurb

I was using NetGalley for the first time and needed a book to familiarize myself with how NetGalley works. (NetGalley is a site where book reviewers and other professional readers can read books before they are published, in e-galley or digital galley form. Members register for free and can request review copies or be invited to review by the publisher.) Since I got this copy from NetGalley, I have a lil introduction from the publisher about the book and author, which is neat because it gave me needed info. I did not remember what the book was about, only that the title was on my TBR list. I also did not know the author but her name sounded familiar.

My initial reaction to this book after reading 3 chapters or so was “Ooo, fire! Ooo, books!” Orlean’s writing feels like fiction not dry facts. I really enjoyed her writing. The Library Book starts with the author’s love of libraries as a child, which switched to her love of buying (instead of borrowing) books when she became an adult. Orelan then rediscovers her love of libraries when she has her own child. (This part made me nostalgic.) She then describes the LA Central Public Library, the collections, the art, the people, and the building. All of it sounded very cool and now I want to visit it. I think book lovers will really enjoy this book for sooo many reasons.

After those beginning chapters, she describes the fire. On one the hand my heart hurts at the damage done by the fire and water. On the other hand, the fire is so very cool, so very large, and so extraordinary. I also loved the description of how the city of LA came together to help the library: “They formed a human chain, passing the books hand over hand from one person to the next, through the smoky building and out the door. It was as if, in this urgent moment, the people of Los Angeles formed a living library. They created, for that short time, a system to protect and pass along shared knowledge, to save what we know for each other, which is what libraries do every day.”

Another aspect of the book I found delightful are the book titles with their library info at the beginning of each chapter. You can guess what the chapter will be about from the book listed.  I appreciated how Orlean goes back and forth with the time in each chapter. One chapter she is following librarians of the LA public library around in present day, the next chapter she is interviewing folks about the fire or describing the fire, and the next chapter she is giving us anecdotal library history. I found the history of library fires fascinating even though it made me sad. She also tells stories about notable folks that were involved with the library. The past directors of the LA public library were some characters!

The question of whether or not Harry Peake started the fire, was there on the day of the fire, or was just lying for attention and was completely innocent is not answered. Read the book and tell me your conclusion. Personally, I think Harry was there and started the fire accidentally.

Request your copy here!

Killers of the Flower Moon. The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

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Killers of the Flower Moon. The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI  by David Grann
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

The Osage Native American tribe was living the good life in the 1920s thanks to the oil fields lying under their reservation in Oklahoma.  Living the good life, that is, until their members start dying at an alarming rate under suspicious circumstances.  When tribe members are found blatantly murdered, an investigation is launched by J. Edgar Hoover who is desperately trying to make a name for himself and his budding Federal Bureau of Investigation. Newly appointed FBI Agent Tom White assembles an undercover team to infiltrate the close knit and increasingly dangerous Osage community and risks his own life in order to discover who is behind the heinous crimes.

David Grann is an award winning journalist from The New Yorker who weaves this true tale of mystery, conspiracy, and racial injustice. Grann reexamines this case through his investigation and manages to tie up the loose ends that the FBI was unable to resolve almost one hundred years ago.
Find it in the catalog

Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA Evidence

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Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA Evidence by Tim Junkin
Format: Book, eBook, Audiobook
Who it’s for: Adults and Teens

This year’s One Maryland One Book selection tells the unsettling, but ultimately inspiring, tale of an innocent man wrongly convicted of a capital crime. Sentenced to death for the grisly rape and murder of a young girl, Kirk Bloodsworth endured years of a hellish existence. He ultimately gained his freedom thanks to his own tenacity in researching legal options, which led him to the brand-new field of DNA testing.

In telling Kirk Bloodsworth’s story, the author shines a glaring spotlight on some of the flaws in our justice system. He invites you to join Kirk as he journeys through hope, despair, determination, and ultimately vindication. As horrifying as some aspects of the story were, I found that I couldn’t put it down.

Find it in the catalog. Then join us at one or all of the library’s One Maryland One Book events, all centered around the riveting tale of disgrace and redemption told in Bloodsworth.