The Body in the Ballroom: An Alice Roosevelt Mystery

Koreto’s mediocre sequel to 2017’s Alice and the Assassin takes teenage Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, from Washington, D.C., to New York City for the spring social season. Her first event is a ball at the home of the prominent Rutledge family. While her personal bodyguard, Secret Service agent Joseph St. Clair, plays cards with the servants below stairs, Alice dances and gossips in the ballroom. When universally despised businessman Lynley Brackton, another party guest, sickens and dies after drinking a cup of the Rutledge punch, Alice is certain that he was poisoned. She immediately sends for St. Clair and insists that they solve the crime. Soon they are investigating a secret society, foreign business dealings, and marital infidelities. The resolution is unlikely to come as a surprise to any seasoned mystery reader. In contrast to the real Alice, who was witty, unorthodox, and scandalous, the fictional Alice often seems merely supremely self-centered. The lack of chemistry between Alice and St. Clair is another minus. Still, some historical fans may enjoy Koreto’s view of early-20th-century Manhattan society. [em]Agent: Cynthia Zigmund, Second City Publishing Services. (June) [/em]