Thursday, September 10, 2020

Following in Lee’s Footsteps

Victor Methos’ 2019 legal thriller, The Hallows (Thomas & Mercer), has won the 2020 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. That commendation is, of course, named in honor of the author best known for having written the 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

In achieving its victory, The Hallows beat out two other finalists for this award, which is presented annually by the University of Alabama School of Law: The Satapur Moonstone, by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime), and An Equal Justice, by Chad Zunker (Thomas & Mercer).

A UA news release about this result quotes Methos, a Utah criminal defense attorney turned author, as saying: “It is such a privilege to receive this award. Every criminal lawyer will tell you the same thing: Atticus Finch was our earliest inspiration. I first read To Kill a Mockingbird when I was 13, and to this day, when the injustices of our legal system discourage me, it is that book I turn to for inspiritment. To think the committee saw something of it in my own work humbles me, and I will always be grateful.”

That same official notice explains: “Methos will be honored with a signed special edition of To Kill a Mockingbird. The 2020 prize will be awarded virtually as part of the Library of Congress’s National Book Festival,” September 25-27.

(Hat tip to The Gumshoe Site.)

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