Murder in the Executive Mansion: An Eleanor Roosevelt Mystery

The posthumously published 15th in Roosevelt's series starring his mother Eleanor as sleuth finds the White House in an uproar before a visit from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. At the 11th hour, Lucinda Robinson, Eleanor's social secretary, goes missing. Only after the royal couple leaves is her body discovered, stuffed in a third-floor closet. Eleanor enlists her old investigative pals, D.C. police captain Ed Kennelly and Secret Service agent Gerald Baines, to pursue the killer. They discover that Lucinda was a complex woman, fluent in German, ambitious, playful and sexually active. As they search, Eleanor goes undercover, masquerading as Detective Broderick when she visits a ``carpet joint'' (a nightclub with gambling) and sees a striptease act. Soon the First Lady suspects a connection between FDR's preoccupation with the German threat and Lucinda's fascination with that country. The author's fans will relish this glimpse into White House life of the time and the parade of famous names. (May)