Chasing Lincoln's Killer is based on James L. Swanson's New York Times bestselling book, Manhunt , also an Apple TV+ Series. Based on rare archival material, obscure trial manuscripts, and interviews with relatives of the conspirators and the manhunters, Chasing Lincoln's Killer is a fast-paced thriller about the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth: a wild twelve-day chase through the streets of Washington, D.C., across the swamps of Maryland, and into the forests of Virginia. Starred Review. Grade 5 Up—This volume is an adaptation of Swanson's Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer (HarperCollins, 2006). Divided into 14 chapters and an epilogue, the sentences are shorter and chapters are condensed from the original but the rich details and suspense are ever present. Lacking are a bibliography and a notes section. Excellent black-and-white illustrations complement the text. Devoted to the South, John Wilkes Booth had planned to kidnap Lincoln and hold him hostage, but when that plan did not materialize, he hatched his assassination plot. Co-conspirators in Washington, Maryland, and Virginia helped him escape and evade capture for 12 days before being surrounded in a barn and killed. Readers will be engrossed by the almost hour-by-hour search and by the many people who encountered the killer as he tried to escape. It is a tale of intrigue and an engrossing mystery. With the approaching bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, this is a most welcome addition to all libraries.— Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Based on Manhunt (2006), his New York Times adult best-seller, Swanson provides a fast-paced account of the assassination of the sixteenth president and the gripping 12-day hunt for John Wilkes Booth and his fellow conspirators that followed. Though Booth remains his principal focus, the author cuts cinematically among the actions of the other conspirators. This device succeeds in building suspense but sometimes proves awkward and confusing, especially where chronology is concerned. Worse, there is no appended matter—no index, no notes on sources, no bibliography, no time line. As a result, statements like “It was the most beautiful night in the history of the capital,” or “Jones’ eyes lit up,” or “It was one of the happiest days of his life” are unsourced. The subject matter remains intrinsically fascinating, however, and Swanson’s colorful account will hold readers’ interest throughout. The inclusion of period photographs and documents adds further immediacy to the story. Grades 7-12. --Michael Cart Praise for Chasing Lincoln's Killer : An ALA Best Book for Young Adults Booklist Notable Children's Book Recommended as one of the top children's books about Lincoln by American History Magazine * "This account of Lincoln's assassination and the twelve-day search for his killer reads like a historical thriller."-- Publishers Weekly , starred review * "The rich details and suspense are ever present . . . It is a tale of intrigue and an engrossing mystery." -- School Library Journal , starred review "It's history that reads like a tragic thriller." -- USA Today Praise for "The President Has Been Shot!": The Assasination of John F. Kennedy : A YALSA-ALA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award Finalist "Swanson brings the same immediacy and thrillerlike tension he achieved in Chasing Lincoln's Killer to this harrowing account of the Kennedy assassination."-- Publishers Weekly "Swanson charms readers with mesmerizing, little-known facts, making readers the experts and inspiring them to become historians and inquirers." -- VOYA Magazine "Reads like a thriller, with intense pacing and an engaging narrative." -- School Library Journal "Archival photographs, explicit diagrams of the assassination scene, source notes, and a bibliography that includes conspiracy-focused literature add further value to this strong addition to Kennedy titles." -- Booklist Distinctions and Praise for Chasing King's Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King Jr.'s Assassin : NAACP Image Award Nominee Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year 2020 New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award Nominee Texas Topaz Reading List Top Ten Title for Nonfiction Cybils Award Junion High Non-Fiction Finalist * "Page-turning nonfiction that captures the tenor of the times with meticulous research and a trove of photographs. Exhaustive, exemplary backmatter further enhances the text. An important contribution to the understanding of a complex period in United States history that still reverberates today." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review * "....[James L. Swanson's] masterful work, akin to [his] previous success, Chasing Lincoln's Killer... takes on thriller pacing as it portrays, in alternating segments, King's ceaseless work with Ray's escape f