Investigators in Alabama are reportedly examining a claim of possible "elder abuse" related to the upcoming publication of the second novel by Harper Lee.
The state of Alabama was investigating the quality of the iconic 88-year-old author's care at the assisted-living facility where she resides, in the wake of ongoing concern over whether she was capable of consenting to the publication of 'Go Set a Watchman,' E! Online reported.
According to the New York Times, meanwhile, investigators with the state Human Resources Department and Alabama Securities Commission interviewed Lee in February 2015 and have spoken with employees at her care facility, the Meadows, as well as with her friends and acquaintances while checking up on at least one claim that the writer might have been a victim of elder abuse.
Lee's attorney, Tonja B. Carter, found the manuscript last August and negotiated the publishing deal with HarperCollins and Carter, HarperCollins and Lee's literary agent have said that she endorsed the publication of 'Go Set a Watchman,' which she worked on before Mockingbird and set aside more than a half-century ago.