Customer Reviews

The Lincoln Secret

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Excellent historical mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma
Wow, what a terrific first novel by John McKinsey. The question now is how will he follow up this wonderful historical fiction. This is simply a good solid read. And, it is NOT what you think by reading the title or the back cover. It is more, much, much more, and it is written in a very tight style that keeps the reader engaged. Mr. McKinsey has a gift and I hope he uses this writing gift in future novels.
Like Dan Brown's historical novels, The Lincoln Secret uses history as its touchstone and then builds on historical fact, fiction, and supposition. At times, Mr. McKinsey pushes the historical envelope but he never exceeds historical possibilities, which rewards the reader with wonderful "what if" scenarios that continually heightens the suspense without going overboard into unbelievable fantasy. The book is secret codes, cryptic letters, treasure maps, kidnapping, murder, questionable parentage, grave robbing, crypts, chases and a whole lot more. What makes a single mother, a shopkeeper, stand up to an FBI agent who calls her out of her hotel room? Why does somebody chase a reporter who was researching the last years of Abraham Lincoln's presidency? Why is a woman murdered in her own city while doing genealogy research? Why is her professor brother, a Lincoln scholar, stalked in Tennessee? These are just a few of the many questions that await the reader of The Lincoln Secret.
Good Character development of both present day players and historical figures. Very good use of plausible historical mysteries. A sometime complex story made easy to understand through good writing skills.
No gratuitous sex, language or violence.
Definite recommend. Although 465 pages it is a quick read as you cannot put it down. Much better than most historical fiction out today. Not a pulp novel. I am eagerly looking forward to Mr. McKinsey's next novel.

This story is fast paced with many plot twists, making it difficult to put the book down.
It is very well-written and, as president of a small local library, I have also ordered it to make sure that more people have the opportunity to read it.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
Don Ojan,
Broad Brook, CT

This is an excellent book and very hard to put down. For those who enjoy history as well as good mystery, you will get it here. Hopefully, Mr. McKinsey will find another venue for the book's main characters, Sean Johnson and Kim Poole, two intelligent, resourceful people determined to solve a family puzzle going back to the Civil War. I am greatly looking forward to Mr. McKinsey's next book; he has already set a very high bar.

I was quite skeptical when I first purchased The Lincoln Secret. It is a first book, published by a small press. I was pleasantly surprised from the first page. Unlike many historical mystery novels, it does not blather on about the history of the subject. Neither does it require any previous knowledge about the historical characters. John McKinsey's writing is engaging, entertaining and thought provoking. The novel has hooks for anyone with interest in Lincoln, genealogy or the Civil War. Lacking any great interest in those subjects, I was still hooked. This was an excellent book and I am eagerly awaiting John's next work.

McKinsey's first novel combines the wit of Clive Cussler's earlier works with the cerebral challenges of Dan Brown's DaVinci code. A non-stop read that reminds us that truth and history aren't always on the same page.

I'm a history buff and I love a good mystery. You have captured both.
A very good read.
Thanks
Sarah Villec

After all of the 5 star reviews I was excited to read this book, but I was dissappointed with it. I found the author included so many extra bits of information about the characters that it was distracting. Really... I needed to know about the professor's dislike of cell phones? It was a struggle to get through at times and I found myself skimming entire pages which is something I don't like to do. I guess it was worth the low kindle price, but don't expect too much.

I liked this book.. The characters were well-written and the author kept a good pace going throughout the book. The historical angle made it very interesting. Overall I would recommend this book to others.

I really like the Lincoln Secret. It has a lot of historical tidbits intertwined with a nice fictional story. I really liked the style of the writing and it was a very exciting book. It really kept my interest. (And that is sometimes are to do)

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery.