Customer Reviews

Murder at the Library of Congress (Trade Editions Series)

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Murder at the Library of Congress is definitely not Truman's best work in the capital crimes series. Annabel Reed-Smith is commissioned to write an article on Colombus at LC. With a couple of murders thrown in the mix - one new and one 8 years old, she gets a bit side-tracked. Truman does keep the reader engaged, following an art thief on a cross-country trek, as well as interesting descriptions of LC. However, the plot around Annabel is without its usual punch. And, for fans of husband Mac, he is sadly in a much more backstage role. In fact, the aggressive news reporter does most of the crime solving for Annabel and Mac. Overall, an okay read, but not her best.

Truman, in her latest "Capital Crimes" novel, delves into the world of scholarly skullduggery and murder at the Library of Congress. As usual, Truman has researched the background of her plot with care. This mystery deals with a diary and a map that was purportedly written by a friend of Christopher Columbus. The diary and map could possibly shed some light on the accomplishments or perhaps the evil deeds of Christopher Columbus during his trips to the New World. Annabel Reed-Smith, a former lawyer who is also an art expert, happens to be doing research in the Hispanic section of the library when a murder occurs. Naturally, she becomes embroiled in the investigation of the murder. The writing style is breezy and casual and Truman works out the plot in a competent, albeit unexciting, fashion. She may not be flashy, but Truman writes light mysteries that are easy to take.

Murder at the Library of Congress by Margaret Truman is one of the Capital Crimes novel series. Annabel Lee, an ex-lawyer and a new art gallery owner, is invited to do an article over the long-lost Las Casas diaries in a magazine. Annabel, deciding to do the article, goes to the Library of Congress where she meets with Consuela, head of the Hispanic and Portuguese division, to find all the materials she needs to write the article. In between researching, she meets and interviews Michele Paul, a rude historian who has been trying to find the Las Casas diaries for years. His murder later that night puts a bump in Annabel Lee's plan to interview him some more and creates a whole new oppurtunity to investigate Paul's murder.

Truman's mystery novel is not one of mystery, as the plot shows indirectly who the murderer is and why this person murdered Michele Paul. Although not surprising, it is a let down at the end of the book when you find out that the person you were expecting murdered Michele Paul, really did murder him. Another thing that was destroyed in this book was word play. Whenever Truman used a popular saying that virtually everybody knows, she added either after or before the character said it "As the saying goes." Although not important, it makes the story a little less real and choppier as well. One good thing, however, is that the characters Truman used may not be like regular people, but are interesting and they keep you reading to see what happens to them in the end. The concept of the whole story is thrilling as well.

Truman made some mistakes that were costly to the book's storyline and appeal, but that was fixed with interesting and complex characters. As a whole the book was good, but not one to be remembered as a classic.

One of the best parts about a Margaret Truman mystery is the insight into the Washington DC institutions that are featured in her books. Murder in the Library of Congress is no exception, and we get a fascinating look inside this venerable but widely overlooked treasure.

Former lawyer and current art gallery owner, Annabel Reed-Smith, takes a two month sabbatical from her gallery to write an article that will appear in the Library of Congress magazine, Civilization. The article will be about Columbus' friend and colleague, Bartolome' Las Casas. Reed-Smith plans to spend two months in the Library of Congress doing research for this article. Many experts believe that Las Casas kept diaries and even a treasure map from the three voyages he made with Columbus. But many people searching for these diaries have met with tragic fates. Almost as soon as Annabel arrives at the library, she discovers the body of the number one Las Casas expert in the world. Unfortunately, he's been murdered. Also, 8 years prior to this, another Las Casas expert (who also worked at the library) vanished without a trace. Annabel quickly becomes immersed in trying to solve these mysteries.

While the premise of the plot is plausible, how Annabel seems to always be at the center of things is not. She is consulted by the police, asked to examine possible clues, and kept up to date on the investigation. This is the Washington DC Metro Police, not Mayberry RFD. Also, Annabel's perfect life is just a little too nauseating.

Still, the star of this book is the Library of Congress. She gives both a thumbnail sketch of its history, as well as procedures of operation today. After reading Murder in the Library of Congress, I'll definitely put it on my list of places to visit during my next trip to Washington.

Margaret Truman knows Washington, D. C. intimately and this comes through clearly in all the books of her Capitol Crime series. In this book the detailed descriptions of the Library of Congress bring the scenery clearly into the mind of the reader even if one has not been privileged enough to see it first hand. Her protagonist, Annabel Reed-Smith has been allowed to grow in the series and this latest caper of an art theft shows the skill of the author's continuing talent at characterization.

Columbus discovered America in 1492. Annabel discovers the body while editing an article on Columbus. The who done it is over shadowed by a where is it. A legendary diary and treasure map are hunted by unsavory characters in the tradition of the Maltese Falcon. Ms Truman always provides excellent Washington history and atmosphere. My only criticism was that the victem was so nasty I wanted the killer to get away with it.

This book is an Annabel Smith murder mystery. Annabel, a curator of a museum of pre-Columbian art, has for some reason been asked to write a feature article about Christopher Columbus for a special issue of "Civilization," the magazine of the Library of Congress. When she shows up at the Hispanic section of the library to start her 2 months of research for the article, she meets a cast of characters, some nice, and some not-so-nice. Meanwhile, a second-rate painting of Columbus is stolen from an art museum in Miami. Is there a connection from the heist to the Library? There must be, or else this story would be dead in the water. Clues like a fellow researcher at the Library turning up dead draw Annabel into the investigation.

This is the kind of mystery in which the author lets us know the whereabouts and thoughts of everyone, including the bad guys, as we go along. She tells us up front 80%-90% of who is involved in the suspicious activities, so the real suspense is in waiting to see if Annabel will solve the mystery before it's too late, and in seeing how the pieces of the plot-line are finally all tied together. Though the story is told coherently, the details are far from realistic. It's hard to picture librarians and researchers with the personalities that Truman describes. Yes, academics can be a motley bunch of interesting people, but I've never met any who act like this. Truman has the Library intern working on a long-term project of cataloging 15 Cuban newspapers, hardly the work of an intern. The researchers, Annabel included, go about their work like journalists rather than academics, for instance, starting their projects with interviews with other researchers, in which they hope to catch a great quote. A big deal is made of some computer disks which Annabel discovers, and spends all night reading on her computer screen-whereas any experienced computer user, especially a former lawyer, would immediately hit "Print" upon finding such material, or at the very least, make a copy to the hard drive (which Annabel's laptop apparently didn't have, back in 1997 when the story is set). Overall, I found the plot weak and predictable, the dialogue inane, and the plausibility very low. Nevertheless, the story at least hangs together and can keep one's interest for a short while.

In this the 16th title of Margaret Truman's Capital Crime Novels, Annabel Reed-Smith finds murder and mayhem in the Library of Congress (LC).

In MURDER AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS I found the details about the LC interesting and like the other subjects in Ms. Truman's mysteries, the factual information was just right, I was not slowed down or distracted from the mystery. The solving of the mystery seemed easy for me, although the different paths confused me at times and I found myself back tracking.

In this mystery three unusual thieves steal a not so famous painting that leads them in to a lot of trouble. And there is a rumor that a lost diary linked to Christopher Columbus may be hiding something more valuable than the worth of the diary it's self, if it exist. Annabel finds herself writing an article for the magazine Civilization and does the research at the LC. She also finds some stiff competition in both, her amateur sleuthing and in her marriage to Mac, with a gorgeous, aggressive TV Reporter name Lucianne Huston.

One thing I will mention to the reader is, he or she will find there are many paths to this mystery and to get the complete picture they need to follow them all closely. MURDER AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS is a strong, intellectual mystery with interesting facts.

Another interesting and captivating book by Margaret Truman. I hope that the series and the author go on and on.

This mystery once again has Annabelle Reed Smith and her husband Mac (he plays a very small part). This was a fun book because it takes us inside the Library of Congress and into the very expensive and illusory world of rare books. I have yet to read a book in this series that I have not liked. I find Margaret Truman to be a bit underrated and ignored in the mystery field. She puts me in mind of Agatha Christie as she also spins a good mystery without all the blood and gore.