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A review by tracey_stewart
The Devil Amongst the Lawyers by Sharyn McCrumb
4.0
The Devil Amongst the Lawyers is the tale of a 1935 trial in Wise County, Virginia, which gains national attention because of two factors: the country (or the newspaper business, at least) is hungry for a new sensation now that the Lindbergh kidnapping has run its course - and the defendant is pretty. The one thing the journalistic community in this book is honest about is that had she been ten years older or half as pretty no one would have paid the least attention outside her own community.
The book features three journalists: Henry Jernigan, with his reputation for high-toned writing and literary reference (when he thinks his audience will "get it"); Rose, a "sob sister", following as all woman reporters of the time do the emotional angle and grateful (as they all are) that the girl really is attractive; both Henry and Rose are from a major newspaper (though not as major as the syndicate that paid for exclusive access to the defendant, in a move that stinks to high heaven from every angle). The third journalist is Carl, a nineteen-year-old just beginning his journalistic career at a tiny hometown paper, and hoping that this will be his break.
There is also Shade, the photographer sent with Henry and Rose, who goes out seeking broken down cabins to take pictures of for the story (preferably one with a pig on the porch) and has a terrible hard time finding one; and Nora Bonesteel, here aged 12, the ghost-touched old lady who is the common thread through the Ballad novels.
The writing is beautiful. The characters – from the old men who try to give Carl a bit of a break to the ones we spend the most time with – are wonderful – Henry with his Japanese ghosts, and Rose with her "dog fox" light o' love Danny, and Carl with his clear-eyed read of the facts battling with what would further his career and get him out of the sticks. And Nora, with her gift that no one understands … I found the ending disturbing, in a way, because it fell out so very differently from what I still – credulous, naïve gull that I am – hoped would be the result of a properly held trial covered by experienced reporters.
The story of the elephant in the prologue is true, I'm sorry to say. The story of Erma Morton is true, or the basic facts are - her name was really Edith Maxwell. I'm sorry to say that, too, because that means that the rest of it is probably close to truth. A beautiful, sad, disheartening book.
The book features three journalists: Henry Jernigan, with his reputation for high-toned writing and literary reference (when he thinks his audience will "get it"); Rose, a "sob sister", following as all woman reporters of the time do the emotional angle and grateful (as they all are) that the girl really is attractive; both Henry and Rose are from a major newspaper (though not as major as the syndicate that paid for exclusive access to the defendant, in a move that stinks to high heaven from every angle). The third journalist is Carl, a nineteen-year-old just beginning his journalistic career at a tiny hometown paper, and hoping that this will be his break.
There is also Shade, the photographer sent with Henry and Rose, who goes out seeking broken down cabins to take pictures of for the story (preferably one with a pig on the porch) and has a terrible hard time finding one; and Nora Bonesteel, here aged 12, the ghost-touched old lady who is the common thread through the Ballad novels.
The writing is beautiful. The characters – from the old men who try to give Carl a bit of a break to the ones we spend the most time with – are wonderful – Henry with his Japanese ghosts, and Rose with her "dog fox" light o' love Danny, and Carl with his clear-eyed read of the facts battling with what would further his career and get him out of the sticks. And Nora, with her gift that no one understands … I found the ending disturbing, in a way, because it fell out so very differently from what I still – credulous, naïve gull that I am – hoped would be the result of a properly held trial covered by experienced reporters.
The story of the elephant in the prologue is true, I'm sorry to say. The story of Erma Morton is true, or the basic facts are - her name was really Edith Maxwell. I'm sorry to say that, too, because that means that the rest of it is probably close to truth. A beautiful, sad, disheartening book.