Book Log 2010 #6: The Anarchist by John Smolens


Amid the rising tide of anarchism, a Buffalo dock worker named Moses Hyde must help catch a band of anarchists who may or may not be involved with the assassination of President William McKinley. The assassin, Leon Czolgosz, clearly has anarchist beliefs, but is perhaps a little delusional as to his role in the movement (he sees the killing as a way to get close to leader Emma Goldman, whom he has never met).

This doesn't really matter to the Pinkertons and other security agents, who see the killing as evidence of a coming revolution. Hyde has to help them catch Czolgosz, and quickly, both to save himself and his girlfriend, a Russian prostitute who is also seen as a potential anarchist.

I like that someone is plumbing this era for historical fiction - so much of it centers around wars - and I enjoyed the story well enough. Much of the "evidence" that puts Hyde and his girlfriend in jeopardy is coincidental, and I did feel after a while that it was cropping up as a way to goose the action. It's not perfect, but it was worth the read.