"Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James Swanson

198 pages

James Swanson wrote a bestselling book ("Manhunt") about Lincoln's assassination and the pursuit of John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators. This is the young-adult adaptation of that book. It begins with the Confederacy's surrender at Appomattox and describes how the South's loss enraged Booth and his associates. From there, the book follows the planning of the assassins, the murder itself, Booth's escape, and his eventual capture. As one would expect, considering that Swanson wrote "Manhunt," the author did plenty of research, which allows him to write about what happened from several different perspectives: Booth, his conspirators, the police, the people Booth encountered during his escape, and more. Swanson provides plenty of details, but the story reads more like a crime novel than a historical text. I enjoyed the read and also learned a lot, and I think this is a great book to get young readers interested in this part of history.