“The Haunting of Abraham Lincoln” is a fictionalized account of the last few days of Lincoln’s life after Lee surrendered to Grant to end the Civil War. It was well reported that he had a prophetic dream which showed him in a casket with mourners all around him. This novel expands a bit on those dreams and fictionalizes others in which Lincoln’s dead son Willie appears in an attempt to prepare his father for his eventual demise. Lincoln is trying to focus on reconstruction, but is distracted by the meaning of his dreams. The novel also focuses on Booth’s attempts to recruit people to aid him in his assassination plot of Grant, Seward, Johnson, and Lincoln. However, he is also plagued by Willie’s presence in the form of a child’s laughter.

I will confess I love all things Lincoln, from reading books about him, his wife, and the assassination to watching documentaries about him. So, when I saw this book, I had to read it even though it was a fictional account based on some fact. It was a nice touch to add Willie into the mix as both a positive and a negative force. However, in the grand scheme of things, although fiction, there is nothing new to learn from this book other than another retelling of the days leading up to the assassination as well as the act itself. The final chapter, however, is a bit satisfying for those of us who admire who Lincoln was and what he stood for and hopes this this part is not fiction.

Since this was a fictional account, what would have been a nice change would be to have Lincoln not to go Ford’s Theater, but instead accompany his son Tad to Grover’s Theater, finally understanding what Willie is trying to show him in those dreams, thus thwarting the attack from Booth and living to see his second presidential term through.

The Haunting Of Abraham Lincoln
By: Kyle Wolfson

5 stars

I want to start by thanking both netgalley and the publisher for this Arc. I am so glad I was given this opportunity.

I didn't know what I was going to get with this book. I know I love history. And a good haunting, sign me up! But, Abraham Lincoln? That is where I was a bit surprised and intrigued. Im glad to say this book did not disappoint. We all know the true story, but this one is one for the history books.

It presented a ghost story tied together with history. It gave a different type of timeline, a different type of tale. I loved that it not only gave Lincolns view, but that of John Wilkes Booth as well. It really painted a realistic side while the story tied them together in the most fantastical of ways.

I was so impressed with this story. The writing was good, the research was good, and the storyline, start to finish, was awesome. This is definitely one I will be telling my friends about.

Stormi Ellis

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I read a lot of book about Abraham Lincoln. Both history and historical fiction. I am just endlessly interested in this man. A leader of one of the worst times in American history. A leader who literally rose from a backwoods childhood in Indiana and Kentucky. Just his rise to the position of the our nation's leader is amazing enough. Add in the Civil War and his own imaginable losses suffered during his life. I just can't get enough. I never will because we are as close as we ever will be at knowing him. He lost his mother and dear sister in his youth. Then he married and had four children with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln. Little Eddie died at only three years old before Lincoln made it to the White House. While in the White House, his eight year old son Willie passed away, likely due to typhoid in the water on the grounds. His wife became more and more mentally unstable, spending money (likely an addiction) during a time of country wide war time rationing. Lincoln was chronically depressed which they referred to as "melancholia" in his time. He was very empathetic and deeply felt the losses of life both personal and in the war he oversaw. I always want to know how he was able to work through that depression and do what needed to be done in his position. So when this book presented itself, I wanted to read it right away. It is historical fiction told from Lincoln's viewpoint as well as that of his killer John Wilkes Booth. The new angle is that it is told from the lens of his premonitions of his own death and the dreams he had in his final weeks. This was interesting as I had heard before that he believed he would die while still in office. The book did a good job of taking liberties detailing his dreams and visions of his son Willie while also retaining all the actual factual information of those last weeks. As with every book about Lincoln that I read, I was again disappointed that the story ended with Lincoln's murder. I know its the facts but some little part of me still waits for something to change.

Thank you NetGalley and Kyle Wolfson for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Haunting of Abraham Lincoln.

This was my first book about Abraham Lincoln and it was quite a fascinating read. It went back and forth between Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth's storylines. Lincoln is often visited by his deceased son, Willie, in his dreams. Through the first dream, he sees a casket but cannot see who is inside of it. From that point on, he knows something will happen to him. Wilkes Booth despises the president's beliefs and wants to murder him because of those beliefs. We get to witness him fall into the madness of his hate.

Excellent. I was only curious about how much is imagined by the author. I've never read some of the quotes and anecdotes attributed to Mr. Lincoln. Very well done.

"I asked the door guard what had caused this scene, and he replied, "The president, sir, he was shot by an assassin."

Imagine a sliver of a dream whispering to you of the things to come. Yet, you try to believe that it was nothing more, nothing less than a simple dream that held no weight to it.

Lincoln seemed haunted by it. It held him in its grip and would not let go. Even worse, his late son, Willie, was there waiting....waiting to assist him on a journey that Lincoln did not understand.

The death of Willie had an impact on Lincoln and this shows in the book. The boy had been a favorite of his and his death tore Lincoln apart, but the 16th president really had no time to grieve. The war between the North and South was raging on and he had to focus on that. Yet, Willie was always at the forefront of Lincoln's mind.

This may be a work of historical fiction but the portrayal of Lincoln in this story was gripping and enjoyable. You could feel his pain and the haunting of these dreams. He could not understand why Willie was appearing to him and why he kept talking about assisting him. I felt that Lincoln knew that something was happening and yet he did not want to believe in the possibility that it had something to do with a dream.

John Wilkes Booth claims that he is "no Brutus" and yet he destroys that notion in his next sentence: "This is the last speech he will ever make. By God, I'll run him through."

Brutus had run through Caesar during the Ides of March as a way to get rid of the tyrant. This seemed to be the same feeling that John Wilkes Booth feels but he does not see himself as Brutus. He does not know Lincoln nor does he run within the circles as the sixteenth president. He only sees Lincoln as a tyrant and he thinks by doing some sort of harm to him that will rally the South to rise again and win their rights back as slave owners.

John Wilkes Booth even shows how racist a man of his time is. He refuses to believe that people of color have a right to be free and even harms a young Union person of color because he did not like him in the bar.

You can see John spiral into his madness believing that what he is doing is right and nothing is going to stop him.

The threads of destiny are entwining these two players and the story is coming to a conclusion where one won't come out alive.

Lincoln has been a source of fascination. This was a president who had been forced into a situation by his predecessors who refused to raise a hand to stop it from happening. A man who watched his son die while a war raged on and a grieving he could not have at the time. This was also a man who had depression that often caused him sleepless nights.

I know this book was historical fiction but I quite enjoyed it. Again, it made Lincoln more human than anything and gave us a fictional glimpse into the days that would lead up to his death. I am really glad I found this book and I definitely have added this book on the "To Buy" list.

This book begins with Abraham Lincoln‘s dream of a funeral in the White House and ends with him watching his loved ones mourn his loss even though it begins and ends with tragedy the middle isn’t much better. Not to say this wasn’t a great book because it was I have never read such a detailed portrayal of what happened while waiting to assassinate the president and secretary Stewart and his family but now that I have it just makes me sad and I think it was a great thought for the author to end it with Lincoln and little Willie together. These were a bunch of bullies thinking that we’re gonna be heroes I think only a coward would try to kill a man already sick in his bed but only a coward would kill and I know I’m the man in any event. I’m going off on the wrong thing this reviews about this book and I loved it it was fast-paced and told the story in detail from the bad guys and the good guys. I highly recommend The haunting of Abraham Lincoln by Kyle Wolfson even though you think he may know the story like I did but after reading this book it’s total from a totally different dewpoint and was so good. I received this book from NetGalley and a publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

this was a great concept for a historical novel, it had what I enjoy about the genre. It had a great premise going on and I enjoyed getting to read this. Kyle K Wolfson does a great job in telling the story and it was written well. It felt true to the real people and still be a unique story that I was looking forward to reading.

"Mike continued. "You brought us into your web with lies and deceit. Even if we had been able to catch him in his carriage, I'm sure you would have made an excuse for killing him. You don't want justice, you want his blood on your hands. You may have the rest fooled, but I've caught on to you."