A House Divided

May 20, 2019
Set in 1839, Putnam’s entertaining fourth mystery featuring friends and roommates Abe Lincoln and Joshua Speed (after 2018’s Final Resting Place) makes creative use of an actual case from the future president’s early legal career. A dangerous winter storm almost claims Speed’s life, but he’s saved from the icy downpour by Archibald Trailor, a carpenter who’s been doing work for Lincoln. Speed looks to return the favor after Archibald is accused by his own brother, Henry, of having committed a murder along with his other sibling, William. Flynn Fisher, who came to Springfield, Ill., to discuss a business venture with the Trailor brothers, has gone missing, and Henry claims that he was suffocated by Archibald and William. Lincoln ends up representing Archibald, and he and Speed investigate the allegations. The real-life rivalry between Speed and Lincoln over Mary Todd adds human interest. While the mystery isn’t that gripping, Putnam still excels at painting a convincing portrait of the younger Lincoln. Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group.

May 15, 2019
In 1839, young Abraham Lincoln and his friend Joshua Speed (Final Resting Place, 2018, etc.) work to exonerate a man accused of murder. Springfield general store owner Joshua Speed is asked by his friend and housemate Abe Lincoln, the ambitious Springfield lawyer, to check out the State Bank in Chicago. As crisply narrated by Speed, the trip becomes a series of misadventures. Speed loses his purse, and his attempt to recover it leads to a hostile showdown with Archibald Trailor and Flynn Fisher, a pair of seeming louts. Later, he sprains his ankle in the middle of an ice storm. Archibald comes to his aid; has Speed misjudged him? Back in Springfield, Speed learns that Fisher has disappeared and that Archibald's brother William is suddenly flush with cash he claims the recently deceased Fisher bequeathed to him. So Speed consults Lincoln, who's intrigued by the situation. There's a third brother, Henry, whom Archibald believes teamed up with William to kill Fisher. But when colorful mayor Big Red arranges the arrest of Henry, Henry turns the tables by accusing Archibald of conspiring with William in the crime. Lincoln and Speed must work together to untangle the complex mystery just as their friendship is being sorely tested: Both men have grown attracted to the Springfield newcomer Mary Todd and are determined to woo her. The author's fourth franchise entry keeps a nice balance between history and mystery. Putnam's satisfyingly plausible portrait of the young Lincoln deepens with every installment.

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June 1, 2019
A suspected murder divides brothers and inflames the citizens of Springfield, Illinois, in early 1839. Henry Trailor accuses his older brother, William, and younger brother, Archibald, of killing their acquaintance Flynn Fisher, although Fisher's body can't be found. Shopkeeper Joshua Speed, feeling an obligation to Archibald for rescuing him in a deadly ice storm months earlier, wants his friend and roommate, Abraham Lincoln, to defend Archibald but fears that a sudden rift between the roommates over their rivalry for the favors of the lovely and spirited Mary Todd will be a complication. At the same time, Lincoln is working with a foreign banker to provide funds to make it possible for work to continue on the canal from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, which entails a large shipment of gold coins that raises the risk of banditry. With Speed as an adroit and sensitive narrator, this fourth entry in the Lincoln and Speed mysteries continues to bring to life the legendary Lincoln, seen here as legislator, lawyer, and suitor. With impressive research, Putnam fashions his fiction around actual events and fills it with actual characters. A fine historical mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)