Customer Reviews

Murder in the Executive Mansion (Thorndike British Favorites)

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This is another in the series of Elliott Roosevelt's mysteries starring First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. It is June, 1939. World War Two is only weeks away. During the pomp and ceremony of a visit by the King and Queen of England, a young assistant to Eleanor Roosevelt is found murdered. Investigation reveals that she is not the innocent girl that everyone assumed her to be. She was also seen at the German Embassy, and further tracking leads to the realization that murderous German spies have penetrated the White House. For fans of the series, this is a vintage Elliott Roosevelt mystery, with much fascinating insight into the 1939 White House by someone who was there. There is nothing here for the blood and gore violence fan - just a relaxing mystery peopled by Franklin Roosevelt, J. Edgar Hoover, Ernest Hemingway, and other notable figures of the time.

This is an interesting story, but I didn't care for it. I want more excitement.

As a historian I was tickled by some of the historical minutae that doesn't often surface about the White House or the Roosevelts. It is a light weight mystery but what a lark.

This book might have been the product of Elliot Roosevelt when he was seven years old. It was very non-descriptive! One did not even know where the action was taking place in many scenes. Maybe I am too critical, but I thought that the scene where Mrs. Roosevelt ventures into a strip club and makes comments amd asks questions like, "Oh, so is that what they call a G string?" was appealing to some sore ot lowly base instincts