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Synopsis
In 1934 all the national publications sent their star reporters to remote Virginia to cover the trial of Erma Morton: a beautiful twenty-one-year-old mountain girl with a teaching degree, accused of murdering her father – a drunken tyrant of a man.
Four seasoned journalists descend upon the small town – nothing sells papers better than a wronged woman on trial, or descriptions of “backwards” mountain life. Yet instead of rundown shacks and horse-drawn buggies, they found gas stations and coal company executives…but the truth can always be manipulated to suit the audience.
Except that among them is Carl Jennings, an eighteen-year-old novice journalist from Tennessee who accurately reports on the trial and the citizens of the town. So when their articles conflict, Carl is condemned for perjury, while the other journalists sell Erma Morton’s verdict to the highest bidder. Soon, it is not the actual murder that is of interest, but the vultures attracted to the death. In the midst of all this, Carl continues to search for the truth, relying on his younger cousin, Nora – gifted with the “sight” – for help.
A stunning return to the lands, ballads, and characters upon which she made her name, The Devil Amongst the Lawyers is a testament to Sharyn McCrumb’s lyrical and poetic writing.
Publishers Weekly
In 1935, the case of an Appalachian schoolteacher arrested for murdering her father becomes a national news story, seized on by the press for its sensationalism and the opportunity to mock the rural inhabitants involved. Competing with a brigade of city journalists is novice Tennessee newspaperman Carl Jenkins, whose obsession with the truth leads him to call in his cousin Nora, gifted with second sight—but what, exactly, can he report with no concrete evidence? The latest in McCrumb’s Appalachian Ballad series (after 2003’s Ghost Riders) is decidedly mixed; McCrumb’s grasp of setting and character instantly immerses readers in the worlds of both the sympathetic locals and the cynical city press. Her plot, part mystery and part cautionary tale, is passable, but leaves nothing for readers to work out on their own. Dialogue, which stretches for authentic, often feels awkward and stilted; though fans will be familiar with the style, new readers will likely be frustrated. (June)