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Avg. Rating: 4.5
A Thoroughly Enjoyable Mystery
Margaret Truman's mysteries get better with each new one that appears. In this one, she uses Ford's Theatre as her site. Anyone who has visited Ford's Theatre will agree that she picked a place with the right atmosphere for a mystery. Someone murdered Nadia Zarinski in the alley behind Ford's Theatre. She was an intern for Senator Bruce Lerner, and there are rumors of an affair, so he is a suspect. The murder also casts an unwanted spotlight on Clarise Emerson, Lerner's former wife, head of the Ford's Theatre Society, and presidential nominee to chair the National Endowment for the Arts. Aging actor Sydney Bancroft claimed that Jeremiah Lerner, son of the Senator and Clarise, had been dating the victim. A surly brat, he ran when confronted by detectives, and was soon arrested for the murder. Clarise begs law professor Mac Smith to help her son. Mac and wife Annabel, an urbane couple, are in many of Margaret Truman's mysteries. Mac agrees to help, and the real mystery unfolds until it reaches a surprising climax. This is a splendid tale, with real characters (not cardboard) and a nice pace.
I was hoping for more...
This was not one of Truman's best books. I kept waiting for some action and mystery... and then it did not come. The other Capital Crimes book I read most recently (Murder at the Smithsonian; Library of Congress) had a lot more intrigue. I did like the many DC references, but those are in all of her books... hopefully Ms. Truman will have some better books to offer in the future.
An Inside the Beltway Thriller
In her latest novel, Margaret Truman stages "Murder at Ford's Theatre" with a cast drawn from recent headlines and past novels in her Capital Crime Series. The murder of Senate intern Nadia Zarinski, romantically linked to her boss, outside the historic theatre now run by the senator's ex-wife and Hollywood producer, Clarisse Emerson, who is preparing for her confirmation hearing as the next chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts sets off a media frenzy all too familar in the nation's capital. The case is so sensational that Truman's favorite Washington couple, George Washington University law professor Mackensie Smith and his wife Annabelle, are compelled to play leading roles once again. Supporting cast members and Lincoln buffs, detectives Klayman and Johnson, representing the Metropolitan Police Department, and Sydney Bancroft, aging British thespian and Ford Theatre artistic director, add colorful moments to this fast paced drama.It is impossible for me to criticise Truman's work. Her attention to detail especially about local landmarks and legends in Washington, DC provides the reader with a sense of place that locals recognize and visitors remember. I don't doubt that Truman strolled the cafes and galleries of Dupont Circle sipping latte at Kramerbooks&Afterwoods researching the details about historic Ford's Theatre that she got correct right down to the spelling. Above all, "Murder at Ford's Theatre" is first rate suspense. Whether you live inside the infamous beltway or not, add this book to your list right away.
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