Back to the pre-WW II White House of 1939, as President Franklin Roosevelt and wife Eleanor prepare for a state visit from England's King and Queen. Here, Lucinda Robinson, one of Eleanor's minor assistants, disappears from view that busy morning, to be found days later, strangled, in a White House linen closet. The investigation, headed by D.C. Police Captain Ed Kennelly (Murder in the East Room, 1993, etc.), aided by Mrs. Roosevelt, soon reveals a young woman very unlike the pudgy, bespectacled workaholic Lucinda appeared to be. David Lasky, a lawyer on White House staff and one of her many lovers, had sent Lucinda threatening letters when supplanted by someone she called the Kraut. Now, Lasky has disappeared, but a new revelation has claimed the attention of Mrs. Roosevelt, the police, and the FBI--Mary Logan, one of several young people cataloguing Woodrow Wilson archives in the White House, has been caught photographing maps in an off-limits office, and has committed suicide. It appears the enemy has infiltrated the heart of its soon-to-be target, but Eleanor persists, working through a plethora of distractions, finally nailing down Lucinda's killer. Memory Lane for some readers; an intimate history lesson for others. With a puzzle a bit more complex than most in the series, this offers low-key, affable entertainment.
