Eleanor Roosevelt was an activist First Lady who championed the downtrodden. In a series of fictional mysteries, her son, Elliott, has her also be a master detective. Here, the year is 1936, and America is still in the grip of the Great Depression. But in Washington, a complex web of blackmail has been in operation, resulting in the murder of a member of President Roosevelt's staff. The police accuse a White House aide, but Mrs. Roosevelt quickly concludes that she is not the murderer. To find the real murderer, she must dig through a morass of secrets and lies involving a corrupt, political machine in Louisiana. As she nears the truth, another murder shocks the White House, and it takes all of her insight to untangle this complex web. The story has the same deliberate pace as previous mysteries in this series, flavored with an inside look at the White House in that long-ago time. Don't expect a frantic thriller, but it's thoroughly enjoyable to see if you can solve the mystery before Mrs. Roosevelt does.

This book is far more interesting for its mise en scene and political statements than for the actual details of the crimes. The seamless blend of historical and fictional people makes it fascinating. Today the Duke and Duchess of Windsor have been largely sentimentalized and their political views have been swept into the background. For people who are interested in the conflicting views preceding the entry of the U.S. into WWII, this book offers an insider's insight.

... and very boring. The pace of the book is slow, and it is very conservative in its ideas. Even though I don't enjoy excessive dirty language, the morals of this book are so different than the 'modern' ones that it makes it hard to thoroughly understand, especially for a non - American who doesn't have the proper historical background.

Then why 2 stars? Because I think that this is the sort of book can appeal to people who are looking for all the points mentioned above in a book - the slower pace, the historical perspective and 'name dropping', etc.

Elliott Roosevelt has written a series of mysteries in which his mother, the First Lady, solves one or more murders. Each gives us a mystery plus a sense of the White House and popular culture during the Roosevelt administration in the 1930-1940 era. In this story, it is 1943. The allies and the axis powers are fighting desperately around the world. Winston Churchill and his Generals have come to the White House secretly to plan the invasion of France. But upstairs, a policeman finds the body of one of the President's aides, murdered in the Lincoln Bedroom. Realizing that this must be kept secret because of the conference, Eleanor Roosevelt sets out to solve the killing. With the aid of a Secret Service agent and a Washington Police detective, she uncovers and thwarts a plot to assassinate the President. The book is enjoyable, more for the flavor of 1943 than for its simple plot, but it is a smooth-reading story.

In 1943, the Roosevelt White House worries about the corpse of attorney Paul Weyrich found in the Lincoln Bedroom due to the timing of the event. FDR hosts a critical conference attended by Prime Minister Churchill and European Theater of Operation Commander Eisenhower with the agenda being the plan to liberate Europe from the Nazis.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt accompanied by her friend local police officer Ed Kennelly begin investigating the homicide thinking it is probably a stand alone murder. As Eleanor digs deeper into the background of the culprit, she soon realizes that the homicide is part of a gamut to kill her spouse. With the free world at stake, Eleanor sets in motion a plan to use Franklin as bait to capture an assassin before the deadly deed occurs.

The latest Eleanor Roosevelt amateur sleuth novel, MURDER IN THE LINCOLN BEDROOM, is typical of the long running series. The story line is fun but a no brainer and the motives when revealed seem feeble when considering the momentous event envisioned by the criminals. Still Elliot Roosevelt writes in a easy to read, smooth manner including using self deprecating humor when other noted twentieth century figures discuss the shortcomings of the Icon,s son. The opportunity to see the major players during the long running FDR Administration turns this novel like its twenty or so predecessors into an enjoyable, albeit one-sided experience for historical mystery buffs who are not concerned with a historiographer's perspective.

Harriet Klausner

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

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 murder mystery takes place aboard the classic ocean liner Normandie. The plot was a bit too simple for my liking and the author made several mistakes. One of the biggest was that he mentions the superliner Queen Elizabeth to be in service in 1938 when in fact she was launched two years later! Anyway, a pleasant read, but no great classic.

Generally, I liked this book, but I think that's only because I like the concept of Eleanor Roosevelt as a sleuth. The major plot twists were too obvious--without their purpose being very clear, which is quite a feat indeed. And I'd have to go back and read some of Elliot Roosevelt's other books to make sure, but I'd swear he's plagiarized himself in a few spots. Those club scenes sounded *awfully* familiar.

I found this book to be mildly entertaining and quick-paced, yet definitely not A material. The book didn't really give me a sense of what WWII was like, maybe because it took place in a remote chateau. It also failed to fully describe the character's thoughts and motivations. Because the book is based on non-fictional characters, it was hard for me to differentiate between fact and fiction. This book required more knowledge of the WWII era, than the information it provided on the subject. I did not get a sense of the time, and furthermore, felt that if I did not know about WWII, I wouldn't have understood the book. To understand some phrases in this book, the reader must be able to understand French and German. Because I do take French, it was easy for me to translate those phrases. However, I do not speak German, and there were many important phrases in the book in which the author gave no translation. Overall, I would not recommend this book. I would give this book a C to C-, because even though it was a fast-paced book, it was not a page-turning story, and the realistic aspect was lacking. For example, if this meeting was so secretive and dangerous, why would entertainers of the time be invited to the chateau? THe dailogue of this book was also very trite. For example, when Mrs. Roosevelt found a dead body on the ground she said, "Who killed him?". This was very unrealistic. If you have any comments, please write back.