Eleanor and the Cold War: An Eleanor Roosevelt Mystery

The pseudonymous Yardley debuts with an exciting historical series launch featuring former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1951, Susan Meyer is found dead in a train car bathroom in Washington, D.C. Roosevelt was scheduled to meet Susan—the daughter of her friend, German scientist Elsa Meyer—at Union Station and discuss why she’s been absent from work for the last several weeks. Instead, Roosevelt finds a crime scene, which rattles her 25-year-old secretary, Kay Thompson, more than the former first lady herself. Distrustful of the police assigned to handle the case, Roosevelt pursues her own inquiry into Susan’s death, with Kay's help. The pair’s investigation soon uncovers a shadowy network of men passing atomic secrets between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and their propensity for using and abandoning beautiful women. Kay is a spirited reader surrogate, and Yardley makes clever use of historical figures including JFK and journalist Lorena Hickok, who was rumored to be Roosevelt’s lover. Roosevelt is the book’s center of gravity, however, and Yardley renders her beautifully: tested by loss and personal pain, politically savvy, and attuned to the suffering at the mystery’s core, she’s an unforgettable sleuth. This series is off to a strong start. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency. (Feb.)