Murder in the East Room [Hardcover]

Elliott Roosevelt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1993

At a State Dinner in 1940, an up-and-coming senator is found slain, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt turns sleuth to find the killer. By the author of New Deal for Death and The President's Man. 25,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The latest of Elliott Roosevelt's ( New Deal for Death ) posthumous mysteries starring his mother, Eleanor, as sleuth offers more tantalizingly risque glimpses into the First Family's personal lives than previous titles did. In 1940, Idaho Senator Vance Gibson, feeling a little queasy, leaves a White House party only to be found by his wife Amelia in the East Room with his throat slit. Eleanor soothes the distraught widow and vows to do everything in her power to see that the killer is caught. Again teaming up with chief of the D.C. homicide division Edward Kennelly and Secret Service agent Gerald Baines, Eleanor learns that Gibson had made many enemies with his proposed insurance bill and that he had shared his bed with at least two women other than his wife. The trio probes the senator's private and political affairs, as well as those of other guests who had attended the White House dinner. At the same time, FDR tries to decide whether to run for President again and the Germans creep closer to Paris. Adding considerable spice to the tale are delicately intimate scenes featuring Eleanor with her companion, Lorena Hickock, and others in which, for instance, FDR and his secretary Missy LeHand snuggle in bed watching a John Wayne movie.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The latest in this popular history-mystery series is set in the early 1940s as FDR contemplates a third term and Germany is about to invade France. The plot involves the murder of a controversial senator during a state dinner at the White House. Since the D.C. cops seem flummoxed by the situation, Mrs. Roosevelt agrees to lend her considerable sleuthing skills to the case. She discovers that the senator was an avaricious philanderer with a covey of coy cuties eager to satisfy his every carnal craving and that his name was being linked to some unsavory insurance-industry practices. From there, the First Lady asks a few intelligently probing questions and presto! The villains are rounded up, the crime is solved, and the case is marked closed. It's all a bit pat, but Roosevelt again conveys a wonderfully intimate and authentic picture of the FDR White House and its inhabitants. His story is well plotted, entertaining, and full of ambience, and he has used his firsthand knowledge of his parents and their political friends and foes to paint a believable and quite fascinating picture of pre-World War II Washington. Emily Melton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 201 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (November 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312098782
• ISBN-13: 978-0312098780
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Murder With Many Suspects, May 25, 2001

By 

George Webster, Ph.D., (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Murder In The East Room: An Eleanor Roosevelt Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

It is June of 1940, and German troops are nearing Paris. In the White House, concern over the defeat of France is suddenly joined by shock. Senator Gibson excuses himself from a dinner in the State Dining Room and is later found murdered in the deserted East Room. Eleanor Roosevelt immediately goes all out to aid Police and Secret Service in tracking down the murderer. Unfortunately, the Senator's many adulterous affairs had infuriated not only his wife, but also a string of misled women. He also had political enemies willing to kill him. With her usual calm insight, Mrs. Roosevelt sorts out the mass of suspects until she reveals the murderer. Along with the mystery, you also get a picture of goings on in the White House during that momentous time in history. It's always fun to match wits with the First Lady in these mysteries while you watch history being made.

4.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT MURDER MYSTERY, July 1, 2007

By 

Dawn Dellarocco (SHELTON, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder In The East Room: An Eleanor Roosevelt Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

I really liked this book. It kept you guessing because of the many suspects and it wasn't predictable and I liked the writing style and the story. The Roosevelt's second son was a great mystery author. It was set in 1940, and a prominent senator who was having many affairs was found murdered. I would rate it 4.5 stars.