I picked up this title as an audio book through my library because the title intrigued me and I have an interest in history in general, and Civil War history. When I checked it out I did not know that this was a title written for a younger audience. While the target audience meant that Samantha couldn't go into the greater depth and detail that an "adult" book would have offered, I was very happy with the information provided.

Lincoln's Spymaster focuses on Allan Pinkerton, the man behind the most famous detective agency ever in the United States: Pinkerton's Detective Agency. Samantha does a good job of showing us who Allan Pinkerton was, from his assistance during the Civil War in not only keeping Lincoln safe (Pinkerton and his operatives were instrumental in foiling an assassination attempt before Lincoln was inaugurated) to sending out spies for the Union during the war. We also learn about how Pinkerton got started as a detective - he was originally a barrel maker - as well as some of his more famous exploits after the war catching train robbers and murderers. The writing is simple and Samantha sets a good pace. My 12-year-old son really loved the book as we listened in the car, and he's much more interested in fiction than non-fiction, so kudos for writing that captures the imagination and interest of a pre-teen boy.

My quibbles stem more from my perceptions. While knowing that this is a book written to a younger audience I would have liked to have known more about the people in Pinkerton's life. Samantha mentions that Pinkerton was the first (and only) man to hire women as detectives, finding them a valuable asset in his ability to fight crime, but we are not shown any of the exploits of these women in great detail. We also learn very little about Pinkerton's family life or relationship with his wife. Finally, the title of the book suggests more focus on the Civil War period, however Pinkerton's work as Lincoln's Spymaster is covered in just a few chapters. All of these bring my rating down a bit, but I am balancing my own expectations with my understanding that I am not the target audience for the book.

Certainly, if you have children who are interested in history, or even if they aren't and you want to get them interested, Lincoln's Spymaster is a great hook to do that. My son is a voracious reader, but mostly of fiction, so knowing that this book peaked his interest shows that Samantha's book does hit its mark with the target audience. And even though I wanted more, I learned a lot that I didn't know about America's First Private Eye. ( )

This was a great book for young adults that explain how private eyes started in America. It goes into the history of why President Lincoln needed Allan Pinkerton's help for various things during the Civil War and follows with some of the issues the agency had in the years that followed. I actually learned quite a bit from reading this and highly recommend it. ( )

An exploration of the life and work of Allan Pinkerton. The beginning of the book focuses on Pinkerton's move into detective work, a second part explores his spy work during the Civil War, and finally the work of the Pinkerton Agency chasing down early gangs and evolution into a security service company.
I started with the audiobook, it didn't hook me. I had a more engaged experience reading the text and like the original images. ( )

The story of the private eye is common in fiction, but this is the biography of America's first private eye: Allan Pinkerton, who left Scotland as a wanted man and started a new life as a cooper in Illinois. He stumbled into his first case. His reputation grew, and eventually he actually foiled an assassination attempt against President Lincoln. His agency eventually evolved into the US Secret Service. He eventually parted ways with Lincoln and returned to a private detective agency, but not until he'd changed the whole course of US history. ( )

I couldn't put this down. Well, I mean I could - I had to because I was reading it during my lunch minutes, but I zipped through it as fast as possible and can't wait to recommend it to absolutely everyone.

Starting with his humble origins as a cooper, Seiple tells the story of Pinkerton's rise to fame as America's first private detective, including his work as the head of a network of spies during the Civil War and his last battle with the James outlaws.

The book opens with a helpful list of characters, including the Pinkerton agency and their rogues' gallery. An epilogue explains the changes in the Pinkerton agency after Pinkerton's death and how it became a well-known security agency after ups and downs over the years. Source notes and an index are also included, as are black and white photographs throughout the book.

This was absolutely riveting. Seiple doesn't exaggerate or dramatize Pinkerton's life, but she writes a fast-paced narrative that grabs the reader from beginning to end, encapsulating the different major cases of Pinkerton's life and adding insights into his character, operatives, and the historical context. There is a certain amount of death and violence but it's presented truthfully without gratuitous graphic details. Seiple includes Pinkerton's female operatives, another first, and gives generous page-time to these overlooked historical figures. Readers will breathlessly follow Pinkerton's exploits as he protects Lincoln from potential assassination, his operatives track down spies and information during the Civil War, sometimes with tragic results, and Pinkerton's sons attempt to track down the James band of outlaws.

I have to wonder if other reviewers actually read the book. Usually, I skim other reviews to see what others thought and while I could see disagreement in Seiple's prose (some reviewers find her bland while my patrons and I love her matter-of-fact and brisk delivery) some things mentioned in the reviews are just....wrong. One says there is no index. Uh, yeah, there is, it's five pages long! Another says it's classified as a fiction novel. Um....where is it classified as that? It's definitely nonfiction, with plenty of original sources and notes. This annoyed me.

Verdict: I can definitely sell this to kids on its own; read about the first private detective in America, his network of spies, and how they saved Lincoln's life! Even better, it's a great tie-in to Kate Hannigan's novel, The Detective's Assistant, which focuses on Pinkerton's first female operative. I have lots of fans of Hannigan's zippy prose, breathtaking adventure, and extras and they will be thrilled to read the real story behind the story. I Survived fans ready to move on to more challenging titles would be a good audience for this as well. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780545708975; Published 2015 by Scholastic; Purchased for the library