A HOUSE DIVIDED

In 1839, young Abraham Lincoln and his friend Joshua Speed (Final Resting Place, 2018, etc.) work to exonerate a man accused of murder.

Springfield general store owner Joshua Speed is asked by his friend and housemate Abe Lincoln, the ambitious Springfield lawyer, to check out the State Bank in Chicago. As crisply narrated by Speed, the trip becomes a series of misadventures. Speed loses his purse, and his attempt to recover it leads to a hostile showdown with Archibald Trailor and Flynn Fisher, a pair of seeming louts. Later, he sprains his ankle in the middle of an ice storm. Archibald comes to his aid; has Speed misjudged him? Back in Springfield, Speed learns that Fisher has disappeared and that Archibald’s brother William is suddenly flush with cash he claims the recently deceased Fisher bequeathed to him. So Speed consults Lincoln, who’s intrigued by the situation. There’s a third brother, Henry, whom Archibald believes teamed up with William to kill Fisher. But when colorful mayor Big Red arranges the arrest of Henry, Henry turns the tables by accusing Archibald of conspiring with William in the crime. Lincoln and Speed must work together to untangle the complex mystery just as their friendship is being sorely tested: Both men have grown attracted to the Springfield newcomer Mary Todd and are determined to woo her. The author's fourth franchise entry keeps a nice balance between history and mystery.

Putnam's satisfyingly plausible portrait of the young Lincoln deepens with every installment.