Perish from the Earth

A Lincoln and Speed Mystery

by Jonathan F. Putnam

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Pub Date Jul 11 2017 | Archive Date Jun 27 2017

Crooked Lane Books

Historical Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers

Description

A murder aboard a steamboat forces Abraham Lincoln to make a fateful choice—one on which the future of the nation may hang, if his client doesn’t first—in this gripping follow-up to critically acclaimed author Jonathan Putnam’s “masterfully crafted” (Alex Grecian) debut, These Honored Dead.

Newly minted trial lawyer Abraham Lincoln is riding the circuit, traveling by carriage with other lawyers and a judge to bring justice to the remote parts of Illinois. Meanwhile, Lincoln’s close friend Joshua Speed steams up the Mississippi River aboard a steamboat owned by Speed’s father. Suddenly, his journey is interrupted when a rigged card game turns to violence—and then murder.

Speed enlists Lincoln to defend the accused, but soon they come to discover that more than just the card games are crooked aboard the Speed family’s ship. As the day of judgment hurtles toward them, Lincoln must fight to save the life of his client while also preserving the cause he holds so dear.

Meticulously researched and deftly plotted, Jonathan F. Putnam’s second Lincoln and Speed mystery, Perish from the Earth, revolves around a true historical murder that, while nearly forgotten today, was one of the most infamous crimes of the nineteenth century and played a key role in driving the nation toward civil war.

Advance Praise

Praise for These Honored Dead:
"Putnam's well-researched first novel...does a fine job presenting a recognizable young Abraham Lincoln."
--Publishers Weekly starred review

"[A] well-researched debut mystery... Eye-opening historical details on hunting runaway slaves and 19th-century poorhouses will interest readers who enjoy works by Caleb Carr and E.L. Doctorow."
--Library Journal

"Lawyer Putnam bases his debut novel on a solid historical foundation...in the first of what looks to be a winning historical-mystery series."
--Booklist

“This book is a time machine, and the mystery at its core is equally elegant and brutal. Just like our history. But, man, is it fun to root for Abraham Lincoln.”
--Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of The President’s Shadow

"What a splendid debut novel! Jonathan Putnam combines an historian’s understanding of character and context with a remarkable narrative drive that kept me fascinated from start to finish as I tried to figure out how the mystery would unfold. I read history during the days and mysteries every night before going to sleep, so for me, These Honored Dead was one of the most enjoyable works of fiction I have read in a long time."
--Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Bully Pulpit