A Reader's Guide to Books and Reviews

Title: The Haunting of Abraham Lincoln

Author: Kyle Wolfson

Genre: Historical Fiction, History, Netgalley, Paranormal, American History, Presidental Fiction

Date Started: January 23rd, 2023

Date Finished: January 24th, 2023

Status: Finished

Rating: 5/5

Sypnosis: A MAN CAN BE HAUNTED IN SO MANY WAYS

With the end of the Civil War imminent, a spirit of celebration permeates the United States capitol, yet President Lincoln can’t shake his uneasiness. Plagued by disturbing dreams and ghostly visits from his son, Willie, Lincoln begins to question the realities of his life. Has he fulfilled his sole purpose, and if so, what’s next? Elsewhere in the city, John Wilkes Booth wrestles with his own demons as he moves closer and closer to an insistent calling to be the savior of the Confederacy.

TWO MEN, THEIR DESTINIES INTERTWINED

In The Haunting of Abraham Lincoln, Kyle K. Wolfson takes factual bones and clothes them with the flesh and blood of what might have been, crafting a stirring tale of ambition gone wrong, promise cut short, and light that cannot be extinguished.

Review: "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.


I want to thank the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this book.