Manhunt

My next book, now that I've finished Grendel, is Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson.

Last night I got to the library just as it was closing. I wasn't even planning on going in, we were returning The Magnificent Seven, with Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen and some other good guys, one bad guy and his gang, and a bunch of farmers. I dropped the video outside, but then realized I only had 5 pages left in Grendel, and would be destitute of reading material for the trip down and back today. Heaven forbid I should actually get work done on the commute, like I keep telling myself I should. The good thing was, I had my laptop, so I could work if I wanted. At any rate, the library was open, so I rushed inside, trying not to look too wild. I first checked the reserved shelves, to see whether Lolita was there, but still nothing. I looked for recommended books, and most of them were popular writers, or scary books for Halloween. I found this one, it looked half interesting, and was something I'd not really read about or thought about before. And non-fiction would probably be a good break from all the casting of spells and devils and monsters of my last two books.

So far it's pretty blah but readable. I think the author clearly took the time to get quotes, limit the text to facts, and put sufficient bridge sentences to explain the series of events. I guess coming off of something juicy and philosophical like Grendel makes Manhunt seem dry. Then again, there's the exciting cover of a drawing which shows Booth shooting his single shot pistol into Lincoln's head, and in the other hand holding a knife in case the shot went awry, so it's not all bad. I just look at the cover and remind myself this is an exciting book.