A simplistic, almost classical locked-room puzzle, with the intimate, occasionally unflattering exposure of the Washington politics in the thirties.
Reviewed by David on July 17, 1999
Genre: Mystery (Amateur Sleuth, Locked Room)
Synopsis: During a dinner held at the White House by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a man is found dead in the Oval Office. The victim, a congressman with many enemies, has been shot at close range, with his fingerprints on the pistol, and all doors and windows locked and bolted from the inside.
However, there are disturbing discrepancies in the suicide theory, and too many beneficiaries from the congressman's death not to suspect murder. While the feuding law enforcement agencies: the FBI, the Secret Service, the D.C. Police stumble over too many clues, the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt puts her keen mind, observation skills and her knowledge of human nature to get to the bottom of this frustrating case.
Full Review: This is an unabridged recording of Murder in the Oval Office. The book is quite good at providing a glimpse at the provincial, almost small-town atmosphere of Washington in the early thirties. In particular, the intimate life of President Roosevelt, much simpler and more human and fallible than the popular perceptions suggest, is exposed. Eleanor is a sleuth combining very kind perception of others without being naive.
The plot is a bit simplistic, with the classic set of villains and attitudes. The locked room puzzle ends up being rather trivial, and a classic staple of a detective story: a meeting of suspects at the end seems implausible. The villain remanis hidden until the very end, with only the subtlest hints throughout the book.
This is an enjoyable, if overly simplistic mystery novel, pleasing more for the quaint, slightly awkward portrayal of the Capital in the thirties, than for its plot or characters.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 4; Characters: 5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 6.5;
Copyright date 1989, Recorded Books, 1989, Audio Cassette, 5 cassettes
Order from: Recorded Books