The First Assassin
Written by John J. Miller
Narrated by Kevin Stillwell
3/5
()
About this audiobook
Winter 1861: the United States teeters on the brink of civil war. In Washington, D.C., Colonel Charles P. Rook is tapped to organize the district’s security and to protect president-elect Abraham Lincoln from the death threats pouring in to the White House. He surrounds the president with bodyguards and fills the city’s rooftops with sharpshooters, diligently investigating the conspiracies being fomented with increasing intensity by Southern secessionists. Yet amidst the chaos and confusion, a foreigner slips unnoticed into the teeming city. Hired by a wealthy Southern planter to eliminate President Lincoln and destroy the Union once and for all, the assassin catches Rook’s attention by cutting down anyone who gets in his way. As the bodies begin to pile up, Rook realizes he is caught in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with a cold-blooded killer who will stop at nothing to complete his mission. Rook’s only hope is Portia, a runaway slave who holds the key to the assassin’s identity—if she can stay alive long enough to deliver it. Packed with dynamic characters, rich period detail, and a chillingly sinister villain, The First Assassin is a riveting thriller for fans of historical fiction.
John J. Miller
John J. Miller is a journalist who writes for the National Review, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. He is the author of several books of nonfiction, including The Unmaking of Americans: How Multiculturalism Has Undermined America’s Assimilation Ethic; Our Oldest Enemy: A History of America’s Disastrous Relationship with France; and A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America. The First Assassin is his debut novel. A native of Detroit, he lives with his family in Prince William County, Virginia.
Related to The First Assassin
Related audiobooks
No Rules - A Gut-gripping Political Thriller Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President--and Why It Failed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Road to Appomattox Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brought In Dead Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Black Mountain Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Sixth Conspirator: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Führer's Reserve Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Acid Test Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Simple Simon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Australian Heist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Escape from Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Abraham Lincoln: A History (Volume 2) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Back to the Moon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Saboteur: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Navy Seals: Blacklight: Navy Seals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebellium Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExceptional Clearance Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Helldiver Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Election Heist Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCuba Strait Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Broken Jewel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Man in the Middle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The First Conspiracy (Young Reader's Edition): The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Homecoming Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lost King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Light Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Empire City: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Machiavelli Covenant: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Hell Is Always Today Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Literary Fiction For You
All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Covenant of Water Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Measure: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poisonwood Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stardust Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunger Games Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Yellowface: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tom Lake: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picture of Dorian Gray: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The House in the Cerulean Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Song of Achilles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Left Hand of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dutch House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The First Assassin
3 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The First Assassin is about Abraham Lincoln who has just become president, and the year is 1861. War is about to start between the North and the South, and people from the South are leaving Washington. Bennett, a plantation owner from South Carolina, wants to eliminate the union and kill Lincoln. A slave named Portia is on a quest from her grandfather, to go to Washington and warn Lincoln by giving him a photo of the killer. But it’s a dangerous journey, and the question is if she will make it all the way there. Slave hunters are after her and her friend. And while all this is going on, Colonel Rook tries to protect the president because Rook feels there is a big treat, but Lincoln doesn’t want protection or bodyguards. Rook gets some help from colleagues and tries to uncover this conspiracy.The book is exciting, and it gives you some very colorful characters. But it has to be said that this is a novel and the author has mixed fact and fiction. The author wants to tell us what could have happened, and therefore it’s important not to see the book as real. Still some of the people in the book are real, and some of the things being said are also real.I recommended the book to everyone that is interesting in historical novels. You get a good idea what life was like in the middle of the 19th century in the US. On top of that it’s a good thriller. It’s very exciting and even a bit frightening in places. The author has written non-fiction books but this is his first fiction book. And the First Assassin is a strong debut.review by my friend Anna
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not a stand out book in any way, but it was not a miserable experience either. There were many predictable moments and just as many moments that were unremarkable enough that I couldn't recall them now if I wanted to. Those things said, reading about regular civilians in the time of the Civil War, hearing about people leaving cities or states because they weren't sure how the state would go, was somewhat entertaining. There were moments that reflected politics now and moments that were so opposite what we would expect to happen that they were almost laughable. Times have changed and the book reflects that, but some things are always the same and that is shown here too. I'd call this book average, with average plot and characters. While this story wasn't quite what I expected it to be, I wouldn't say that it was a total waste of my time.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Boring beyond belief, the only part that showed any promise was the relationship between the slaves and their evil master's during and immediately after an escape attempt. The whole investigation and eventual conclusion to the assassination attempt was dreary and unimaginative (predictable). This story completely failed to engage me on any level, I only kept reading because I thought that it must surely get better. I'm not sure whether it was the style of the prose or perhaps the lack of it that cured me of my insomnia.