Perish from the Earth

May 8, 2017
Putnam successfully integrates the politics of 1837 America into his solid second mystery featuring Abraham Lincoln, then a practicing attorney, and his real-life close friend Joshua Speed (after 2016’s These Honored Dead). When Speed boards his family’s steamboat War Eagle to look into why its profits have declined, the captain claims that he needs to pay a fixed percentage of the income to a corrupt port inspector. The explanation leaves Speed searching for another way to replenish his family’s fortunes, which have suffered from his ailing father’s imprudent business decisions. Prominent abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy plays a key role in the action. Meanwhile, Speed and Lincoln—who has been traveling around Illinois handling a variety of cases—get involved in a murder investigation after the body of John W. Jones, an unsuccessful gambler Speed meets on the War Eagle, is found floating in the Mississippi. The dramatic denouement, which features Lincoln’s vaunted courtroom skills, provides a satisfying resolution. Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group.