1837 and Joshua Speed just manages to board the steamboat War Eagle, owned by his father as it travelled up the Mississippi River.
Meanwhile new lawyer Abraham Linclon is on the circuit in Illinois hearing cases, when they meet up later on shore and discover a body. A body of a man who while recently on board the steamboat had lost all his money. Speed encourages Lincoln to defend the accused, while he aims to discover proof of innocence.
A very enjoyable introduction for me to this series, some good rounded characters and a well constructed mystery.
A NetGalley Book ( )

I keep saying how uncomfortable I am with real people being used as characters in novels … but I keep reading novels in which real people are used as characters. I'm a masochist, I guess? But in this case I found it hard to resist a novel featuring Abraham Lincoln. Come on, I saw Ken Burns's Civil War during my formative years – as much as any human being can be a hero, he's always been it for me. By this point in my life I've become too jaded to really see anyone as a full-fledged hero (except maybe Janusz Korczak, or Noor Khan), but … still. Lincoln. Afraid as I was of mishandling, I wanted to see him run as a character (to go a bit D&D on you), depicted not as the president, not as the public figure, not as a hero, but as a man. I wanted a book by a really great writer who knows Abraham Lincoln inside and out and can channel his voice, make me learn more about him in all his roles.

Oddly, though, it didn't feel like there was that much Lincoln in this book. Which I mean two ways: first, he wasn't the central focus; his friend Speed was. I was interested in Speed – but a novel about his adventures wasn't what I hoped for. Second … the Lincoln that did appear in the story felt like a cardboard cutout – a paper doll of Young Lincoln moved through the plot as necessary.

I just wasn't entirely convinced by … any part of this, really. The courtroom scenes felt like something from primetime tv with a thin gloss of 19th century. The story was … fine; it kept me reading through to the end, and no part of it ever annoyed or offended me enough to make me quit. But I don't feel any need to read more of the series.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review. ( )

Full review at TheBibliophage.com.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Perish From the Earth by Jonathan F. Putnam is the second book I've read this year about riverboats and intrigue during the the early 1800s. (The first being Martha Conway's The Underground River). Both include historically accurate topics and events, and even a few people from history.

Putnam's book takes it a bit further, in that most of the main characters are people who existed in history. (Thanks, Wikipedia!) Joshua Speed, the son of a Kentucky judge and planter, owns a general store in a Springfield, Illinois. During the 1830s, Speed shared a room with the young lawyer and state legislator Abraham Lincoln. In addition, several of the other characters are true historical people.

Speed is at the center of this novel, but don't get the idea that Perish From the Earth is dry and boring. In fact, it's a solid whodunit mashed up with police and legal procedurals. But don't forget the procedures are from 1836, so hanging is still the alternative to innocence. That adds a layer of intensity to the stakes! ( )

What a delightful murder mystery! It's full of twists, suspense, believable characters, excellent imagery, and simple surprises. Told by Joshua Speed, it details his difficulties in investigating the financial problems his father is having related to the captain of the riverboat the family owns. In the course of this investigation, Joshua comes across the body of a man who had been a fellow passenger on said riverboat. He also is happy to see his old friend Abraham Lincoln,who is a lawyer riding the circuit with several others. Then another of the riverboat passengers, an artist, is charged with the murder of the dead man, and Lincoln becomes his lawyer. A very self important constable wants to see the artist tried and found guilty in order to elevate his own status. The trial cannot be held for several weeks, so Speed heads off to further his investigation of the captain's probable embezzlement, and also to find witnesses and other evidence that the artist is not guilty.
Of course, there is lots more to the tale, but it is all very well done, and does clearly portray the prevailing attitudes and practices of the time.
Many thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to request this book from the publisher who provided an ARC at no cost to me. ( )

Set in 1837, this historical mystery involves the son of a steamboat owner who sets out to find out why his father's business is going under, and ends up working to determine the perpetrator of a murder on the Mississippi. As the best friend of young Abraham Lincoln, Speed is determined to help his friend win the defense case of an artist accused of murder. In the process, he learns more than he wished to know about the evils of slavery and the vagaries of the judicial system of the time. While not particularly fast-paced, this mystery stands out because of its historical basis and the insights into the mindset of border states prior to the Civil War. The subplot about Elijah Lovejoy is particularly interesting. ( )