Furious Hours by Casey Cep

A debut non-fictional account of a multiple murder investigation and an insurance scam by an Alabama preacher as well as the trial of his killer in the '70s. Years after her famous courtroom novel, Harper Lee was still actively searching for material for a new book. She spent over a year covering this case in this small town gathering material for the book she would never write. The book is divided between the murders, investigation/trial of the Reverend, the trial of the man who shot the Reverend in the courtroom, Harper Lee and her history and the attorney who would represent both the Reverend and the man who killed him. This is fascinating true-crime that pulls you in from the beginning - the tone, voodoo fear, and the tense courtroom and racial tension keeps you reading. It is also a portrait of a great American writer, her unfinished story and the political climate of the South.