the meaning of "cajoled him into a feature with the ruse of chatting about the Civil War ", "There was the hint of a book in the works"

[kjc0123]

What is the meaning of "cajoled him into a feature with the ruse of chatting about the Civil War ", "There was the hint of a book in the works" in the following sentences?

 

The Ford County Times had a picture, one taken just a few years earlier. In it Judge Atlee was sitting on his front porch holding his pipe, looking much older but offering a rare smile. He wore a cardigan and looked like a grandfather. The reporter had cajoled him into a feature with the ruse of chatting about the Civil War and Nathan Bedford Forrest. There was the hint of a book in the works, one about the general and the men from Ford County who'd fought with him.

[jno]

It sounds as though the reporter had pretended he just wanted to chat to the judge about the war but was actually taking notes so that he could write a feature (a newspaper article) about him. Somebody (probably the same reporter, though this sentence isn't clear) might even write a full-length book about him.

[rampart]

What is the title of this book?  I've been dying to know!

[Peter Pedant]

Oh Come on Kay jay - ya gotta tell us, we've read a lot of it, already!

[jno]

come on guys, call yourselves ABers??? Where are your research skills? Ten seconds googling reveals it's The Summons by John Grisham!