annieb123's Review of Final Resting Place (Lincoln and Speed Mystery, #3)

by Jonathan F. Putnam

Twenty-nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln has spent his entire adult life running from his past—from the poverty of the dirt-floor log cabin where he was raised, from the dominion of his uneducated father, and from a failed early courtship. But now, Lincoln’s past is racing back to haunt him.

It is the summer of 1838, and Springfield is embroiled in a tumultuous, violent political season. All of Springfield’s elite have gathered at a grand party to celebrate the Fourth of July. Spirits are high—until a prominent local politician is assassinated in the midst of fireworks. When his political rival is arrested, young lawyer Lincoln and his best friend Joshua Speed are back on the case to investigate.

It’s no ordinary trial, however, as Lincoln and Speed soon face unwelcome complications. Lincoln’s ne’er-do-well father and stepbrother appear in town and threaten Lincoln’s good name and political future. And before long, anonymous letters start appearing in the local newspapers, with ominous threats that make Lincoln fear for himself and his loved ones.

As the day of reckoning arrives, the threats against Lincoln continue to escalate. Lincoln and Speed must identify the culprit and fast, before Lincoln loses the race to outrun his past in Final Resting Place, the brilliant third installment of Jonathan F. Putnam’s acclaimed Lincoln and Speed mysteries.

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Final Resting Place is the third Lincoln & Speed historical mystery by Jonathan F. Putnam. Released 10th July 2018 by Crooked Lane books, it's 288 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio formats.

The author is quite accomplished and I enjoyed the attention to historical detail. There were a number of small details (such as 'pigging') which were written into the narrative without unusual comment or fanfare. I appreciated these small atmospheric additions. Obviously it's a historical murder mystery and not an academic treatise. People looking for actual history and not a well written historical mystery will likely be disappointed. On the other hand, the mystery is well crafted and enjoyable.

The language is very clean and there isn't a lot of direct or graphic violence. There was a graphic description of strychnine poisoning which was unappealing to me but was used effectively to drive the narrative ahead.

I had some trouble keeping some of the secondary characters straight, but that was due mostly to the fact that this book was my morning commute read and thus read in several short sessions. I did not ever find my interest in the plot or the mystery waning whilst I was reading.

All in all a good historical murder mystery, heavy on the history. There was a nice afterword included also with some nice explanatory historical reference notes by the author.

Enjoyable. Three and a half stars, rounded up for the great writing.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

Final Resting Place (Lincoln and Speed Mystery, #3)

by Jonathan F. Putnam

Reviewed by annieb123 on Oct 27, 2018

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