Book Review - The Devil Amongst the Lawyers by Sharyn McCrumb

Synopsis:  In 1934 all the national publications sent their star reporters to remote Virginia to cover the trial of Erma Morton: a beautiful 21-year-old year old mountain girl with a teaching degree, accused of murdering her father--a drunken tyrant of a man.

Eager for a new cause celebre to capture the public's imagination, they were counting on reports of horse-drawn bu ...more In 1934 all the national publications sent their star reporters to remote Virginia to cover the trial of Erma Morton: a beautiful 21-year-old year old mountain girl with a teaching degree, accused of murdering her father--a drunken tyrant of a man.

Eager for a new cause celebre to capture the public's imagination, they were counting on reports of horse-drawn buggies, run-down shacks, children in thread-bare clothes--all of the stereotypes of mountain life. But among them is Carl Jennings, an 18-year-old mountain boy on his first job. An eager, honest journalist, he reports accurately--describing telephones, electricity, gas stations, and coal company executives.

So when their reports conflict, Carl is condemned, while the seasoned journalists perpetuate the myths of country life--and Erma Morton's guilt or innocence is literally sold to the highest bidder--a wronged woman on trial sells papers. Soon, it is not the murder that is of interest: but the vultures attracted by the deaths. 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.

First Line:  "He had been there that day, all right."

Random Quote:  "The little girl was regarding him with that thoughtfully grave expression one sees in the very old and very young alike.  She was bundled in an old brown coat, far too big for her, and a black knit cap with her ringlets spilling out of it to frame her face in an aureole of silvery curls."

Review:  Sharyn McCrumb writes books set in her native Appalachians that are almost all evocative of both place and time.  She's got two series going - the Elizabeth MacPherson novels (Appalachian cop books, basically), and the Ballad series.  I'm fond of all of her books, particularly the Ballad series which are historical fiction based on Appalachian ballads.  I like her books a lot and was pleased to find a new one.

Wild great rhododendron thicket - Appalachians - Image via Wikipedia
Unfortunately, this one is unreadable.  I got about 100 pages again before I gave it up.  The primary problem with this book is that its author quite obviously loathes most of the characters she's writing about.  She's grinding a hard ax here about the media's poor treatment of the Appalachians and her people and I'm sympathetic to her feelings, but I can't care about characters that the author loathes.  I don't have to like everyone, but something has to engage me and there's just too much bias here for me to be engaged.  Disappointing.

FTC Disclosure:  San Leandro Public Library

Rating:  Abandoned