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A review by kikiandarrowsfishshelf
The Lincoln Deception by David O. Stewart
4.0
Crossposted at Booklikes
I listen to the Virginia Historical Society Podcast. They tend to be pretty good. David O. Stewart was the speaker on two of the podcasts. The first was a talk about his book about Burr, and the second was about the Surratt’s (and in part to promote this book).
David O. Stewart is a really great and funny talker. I put the Burr book on my wish list, but ended up buying this one after I listened. Then I couldn’t wait to download it (okay, I had to wait, but you know what I mean).
Stewart usually writes non-fiction, and this is his first fictional work. There are some info dumps, sometimes a little too much telling.
So why four stars you ask?
Because unlike most writers who would take the premise and write a work of non-fiction (Cornwell on Jack the Ripper), Stewart writes his theory (if it is a theory and not simply a plot bunny) as fiction, but a fiction that is believable. The idea is based on a death bed comment about Mary Surratt. It is a mystery where two different men try to discover if the Lincoln assassination was more complex than first appeared.
The two men are James Fraser, a white doctor who attended the dying man, and Speed Cook, a black man who wishes to start a newspaper.
It is the interplay between the two characters as well as the believability of the plot that sells the book. Fraser is the tradition hero with the tragic past and the love interest. Cook is the interesting character, and in many ways, it seems as if Stewart put more thought in him. Based on a real person, Cook is a former ball-player, future newsman, and two time college graduate. He also is mad as hell at how blacks are being treated. He sees the mystery as a way to battle this. Cook works because Stewart does not go the route of everyone learning the wrongs of racism and holding hands at the end. Fraser has changed, and Cook has changed; they have become friends. But it is never an easy friendship, and it isn’t a simple look at race at the time. There are racial attacks and not because of what Cook is trying to do. The best passages are those that focus on Cook dealing with society. In some ways, it feels as Fraser was added because he had to be, because Cook couldn’t go everywhere. It is worth noting too, that while Fraser is the only with the tragic past and the predictable love story, Cook has a loving family – he and his wife are clearly a team.
It is a historical mystery with a good dose of history and wonderful use of character and race.
I listen to the Virginia Historical Society Podcast. They tend to be pretty good. David O. Stewart was the speaker on two of the podcasts. The first was a talk about his book about Burr, and the second was about the Surratt’s (and in part to promote this book).
David O. Stewart is a really great and funny talker. I put the Burr book on my wish list, but ended up buying this one after I listened. Then I couldn’t wait to download it (okay, I had to wait, but you know what I mean).
Stewart usually writes non-fiction, and this is his first fictional work. There are some info dumps, sometimes a little too much telling.
So why four stars you ask?
Because unlike most writers who would take the premise and write a work of non-fiction (Cornwell on Jack the Ripper), Stewart writes his theory (if it is a theory and not simply a plot bunny) as fiction, but a fiction that is believable. The idea is based on a death bed comment about Mary Surratt. It is a mystery where two different men try to discover if the Lincoln assassination was more complex than first appeared.
The two men are James Fraser, a white doctor who attended the dying man, and Speed Cook, a black man who wishes to start a newspaper.
It is the interplay between the two characters as well as the believability of the plot that sells the book. Fraser is the tradition hero with the tragic past and the love interest. Cook is the interesting character, and in many ways, it seems as if Stewart put more thought in him. Based on a real person, Cook is a former ball-player, future newsman, and two time college graduate. He also is mad as hell at how blacks are being treated. He sees the mystery as a way to battle this. Cook works because Stewart does not go the route of everyone learning the wrongs of racism and holding hands at the end. Fraser has changed, and Cook has changed; they have become friends. But it is never an easy friendship, and it isn’t a simple look at race at the time. There are racial attacks and not because of what Cook is trying to do. The best passages are those that focus on Cook dealing with society. In some ways, it feels as Fraser was added because he had to be, because Cook couldn’t go everywhere. It is worth noting too, that while Fraser is the only with the tragic past and the predictable love story, Cook has a loving family – he and his wife are clearly a team.
It is a historical mystery with a good dose of history and wonderful use of character and race.