These Honored Dead

A Lincoln and Speed Mystery, Book 1

By: Jonathan F. Putnam

Narrated by: Lloyd James

Joshua Speed, the enterprising second son of a wealthy plantation owner, has struck off on his own. But before long he makes a surprising and crucial new acquaintance - a freshly minted lawyer by the name of Abraham Lincoln.

When an orphaned girl from a neighboring town is found murdered and suspicion falls on her aunt, Speed makes it his mission to clear her good name. Of course he'll need the legal expertise of his unusual new friend. Together Lincoln and Speed fight to bring justice to their small town. But as more bodies are discovered and the investigation starts to come apart at the seams, there's one question on everyone's lips: Does Lincoln have what it takes to crack his first murder case?

Inspired by actual events from the American frontier, Jonathan Putnam's thrilling debut, These Honored Dead, brings a verve and vigor to the historical mystery genre that listeners haven't seen since Caleb Carr's The Alienist.

©2016 Jonathan F. Putnam (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Entertaining!

The narrator is EXCELLENT! This book urned out to be quite a little gem. I really enjoyed the story and the narration. I will continue with the series.

Exceptional historical fiction!

Wonderful dialog, folksy humor, interesting history, plot & characters topped with the perfect Kentucky drawl.

Historical Fiction at it's Finest

I'm a huge historical fiction fan and picked up These Honored Dead after meeting the author, Jonathan Putman. Many forget Lincoln was a lawyer (among other things) before he entered politics and These Honored Dead dives into this part of Lincoln's life. We get to see things unfold through the eyes of Joshua Speed, a dry good store junior partner. Speed and Lincoln share a room and become friends. The murder mystery at the heart of the story is well developed and there are enough clues for the reader to figure out the "who did it" along with Speed. Most of the characters in the story were actual people in Lincoln's orbit and it was fun learning a bit of history along with an excellent mystery.

Narrator Lloyd James does a fantastic job giving life to each and every character. These Honored Dead comes highly recommended.

Excellent story Fascinating history lesson!

Although it is clearly meticulously researched, the story flows naturally and i listened to it in almost a single day . Set in the year Queen Victoria ascended to the British throne, I knew little or nothing about this period of history in the United States. I feel I learned a lot about the times and the young Abe Lincoln while being caught up in a most interesting murder mystery. The narrator is wonderful. I look forward to the next in the series.

Lincoln / Speed Book One is a WINNER!

If this book is any indication as to what Mr Putnam has to offer for his Lincoln/Speed books, count me IN! I'm a Fan.

Jonathan F Putnam takes the facts of a case and spruces them up, adding a little here and a little there, filling in some details until... voila! - a magnificent murder mystery! Lloyd James is phenomenal at voicing these characters, to the point that I listened to his female voice to be sure it was really him and I only knew it was him because Audible told me so (well, at first you could tell, but toward the end, he was nailing it!).

Okay, the story is so riveting! This is the first book in the series, so we start out with Joshua Speed (who is the narrator) meeting Abe Lincoln for the very first time. I really enjoyed the way Putnam crafted the story around what it might have been like, those two meeting for the very first time... how Lincoln had to order a special bed, and other details that made it so real.

Before too long, the murder happens and Lincoln is pulled in. Putnam has his wry sense of humor as he tells about Lincoln explaining how he hasn't lost a murder case yet... he hasn't HAD a murder case yet, but he hasn't lost one! Each little detail Putnam puts in (I won't spoil the fun) deepens the richness of the story.

The murder is of a young girl, and the aunt eventually is blamed. The thing is, young Speed has recently taken up with said aunt, so he's pushing Lincoln to vindicate his new love interest. More murders happen, each where the aunt could very well have done them. It's not looking good. Speed is desperate now.

Throw in some slave stealing, to which Lincoln has a BIG problem in this book, (This author paints Lincoln as an abolitionist, but there is proof that he wasn't, that he wasn't all about freeing the slaves, but just stopping the war and keeping the country unified) and a great trial, and you've got one masterpiece of historical fiction.

At the end, we are told of every bit of information that Putnam worked with that is true, the historical evidence in its totality to backup this novel, including the details of the murders and Lincoln's trial history. It's extremely fascinating, and Putnam puts it all together. DEFINITELY a worthwhile credit! I'll probably read it again sometime. I really liked this one.

First Classs Story!

Such an interesting story! Good plotting, good characters, good narration, loved it. On to Book 2!

Thoroughly Enjoyed this one

As a resident of the Springfield area, I really loved this book. Though I laughed at some of the pronunciations…which were wrong but only a local would know. The author sprinkled enough historical facts to give the give the book authenticity and took enough creative license to make a really enjoyable story.

So glad to have discovered this series!

This was a great mix of mystery and historical fiction. I can’t wait to read more in this series!

A. Lincoln

As historical mystery novels go this one was terrific I throughly enjoyed both the mystery and the history of the time.

Interesting and Entertaining Historical Fiction

I actually listened to another book in this series before listening to this one, the first in the series. The friendship between Joshua Speed and Abraham Lincoln is legendary. If you are a Kentuckian as I am, the name Speed is well known. I love hearing descriptions of the era and coming to understand the times that Lincoln and Speed lived in. Names that eventually became very important in American History. This story, describing the young Lincoln's first murder case Listeners are left hanging by a thread wondering if Lincoln can acquit the one accused of murdering the young girl and her brother. What an ending! Don't miss this one!