When President Franklin Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor moved into the White House, it was a shabby place to live. The furniture and curtains were old with most needing replacement, but with the country deep into the Depression, Congress refuses to authorize funds to redecorate the President's home. Thus the Roosevelts do the best they can with what they have.

While the President is a movie with an aide, someone tries to assassinate him, but kills a police officer instead. The First lady theorizes that the killer ran away when he heard voices in her husband's bedroom, not realizing that the sound came from the movie. Obviously, White House security is lax and anyone who knows the layout of the place can easily enter and leave without detection. Eleanor, DC police Lieutenant Edward Kennelly, and the White House police join forces to ferret out the identity of the perpetrators.

MURDER AT THE PRESIDENT'S DOOR is the latest Eleanor Roosevelt mystery in this long running series that provides a fascinating look at the 1930s White House. In this age of terrorism and Pennsylvania Avenue cordoned off it is difficult to fathom the Presidential home lacking security measures, and containing broken down furniture and torn curtains. Though the who-done-it is short on action, history buffs will enjoy the late Elliot Roosevelt's latest homage to his parents early years in the White House.

Harriet Klausner

The phrase, "period piece" could have been coined to describe this book, as all the principles are presented in a realistic historical setting. Elliot Roosevelt is the son of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the setting is the white house during FDR's first term. A security man is efficiently murdered outside the door of the room where FDR was staying and it is obvious that it was a professional job as there was no struggle. It is also clear that it was a foiled attempt to assassinate FDR.
While the murder is of course the main point, I was more fascinated with the interactions between all of the historical figures. Joseph Kennedy and his current consort Gloria Swanson; General Douglas MacArthur and his current consort; J. Edgar Hoover and his longtime consort Clyde Tolson; Eleanor's close friends as well as Franklin's longtime companions all play roles in the story. There are also interactions with the current crop of mobsters as well as brief appearances by Harry Truman, Harry Hopkins, John L. Lewis and other figures of significant importance at that time. This lends a backdrop to the story that thrilled my historical roots.
As a murder mystery, this is not an edge-of-your-seat thriller. However, as a story placed in an accurate historical context, there is none better. This is one of the best murder stories that I have ever read.