In his accomplished debut novel, "Fortunate Son," David Marlett introduced readers to a fresh take on historical fiction, built around the transcripts of one of the most momentous legal trials in history. Now he returns with a dramatic new story and an equally dramatic trial.
In 1907, deadly, one-eyed union boss "Big Bill" Haywood was accused of ordering the successful assassination-by-bombing of the governor of Idaho - the first such assassination in American history. The trial, with Haywood represented by a young Clarence Darrow, was front-page news from coast to coast and across the...