Tens of millions of readers got their first glimpse inside of a courtroom from To Kill a Mockingbird . Now Harper Lee's 1960 novel remains a staple on middle school reading lists, and the film adaptation has captivated countless social justice warriors, law students, parents and pet owners. Lee spent years writing about another case in an Alabama courtroom some 17 years later although she never published the intended book. That case and that mysterious book are at the center of Casey Cep’s new book Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee .