University of Miami law professor Scott Sundby has built a stellar reputation over a lifetime as an expert on all things criminal law—innocence, juries, appeals, evidence, sentencing, and search and seizure laws.
His latest work, Wordsworth in Bogotá, is pure fiction but draws upon his time as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida during the height of the Colombian drug cartel extradition activity, his love of books and music, and observer of academic hijinks.
The book tells the story of Esteban Velasquez, whose family's drug empire is facing collapse. Esteban's father is a powerful drug lord, but Esteban prefers literature and studies it abroad. When traditional methods fail, Esteban must use his literary skills to save the family.
Esteban creates a plan to stage an international poetry conference called "Wordsworth in Bogotá," risking the family's remaining fortune to outsmart the Drug Enforcement Administration. This humorous crime mystery explores the complexities of family and the choices one makes under pressure, featuring a diverse cast of characters, including DEA agents and professors, who are forced to confront their own values and desires.
Sundby began writing the book during the pandemic despite his research and teaching load, renovating a 100-year-old house in Virginia, and contemplating starting a rock band for mature ears.
"I’ve always found reading fiction to be a wonderful escape from reality," said Sundby. "As I became more involved in death penalty defense, cases that brim with tragedy, and then the pandemic piled on top, I found the appeal of escaping into a fictional world of my own making irresistible. I found the hours I could steal away to create that world so enjoyable—mulling over each scene, each plot twist—that I spent more and more time there. Before I knew it, I had a manuscript."
"I think it also helped to reach a certain age—which we’ll leave undefined—where I was willing to leave the safe space of academic writing and risk trying something new," he said.
Sundby, the Robert C. Josefsberg Endowed Chair in Criminal Justice Advocacy, has previously written two books: A Life and Death Decision: A Jury Weighs the Death Penalty, which looks at capital punishment from the juror's perspective, and a children's math adventure book, Cut Down to Size at High Noon. Sundby is a former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in Miami and former director of the Virginia Capital Clearinghouse, a Washington & Lee Law School clinic advising lawyers appointed to represent capital defendants.
He is also a massive fan of Books & Books, where several pivotal scenes in the book take place, and will host an author event February 3 at 7 p.m. in the Coral Gables store, which is free and open to the public with registration.
