Murder at the Watergate (Capital Crimes)

One wonders what will happen if and when Margaret Truman runs out of "appropriate" Washington, D.C., landmarks in and around which to stage her murders. Murder at the Watergate fits nicely into the mold with which Truman's fans have long been familiar: that elegant couple, Mac Smith and Annabel Reed, newly ensconced in their Watergate apartment, become enmeshed in a political imbroglio that leads--as it must--to murder. Their good friend, the vice president, finds that U.S. policy on Mexico can be one hot potato. Or tamale. The dueling factions of the Mexican-American Trade Alliance and the Mexico initiative--the former an "unoffical" but deeply menacing lobbying presence with a stake in maintaining the status quo, the latter a think tank bent on exposing corruption deep within Mexico's ruling party--weave a ragged tapestry of blackmail, bribery, assault, and murder that threatens to envelop both Mac and Annabel--and the administration itself. Truman hopscotches rather frantically around the globe and throws in a few over-the-top minor characters to keep the loyal reader hot on her trail. A less devoted reader may be tempted to abandon the chase somewhere in London.

One doesn't read Truman for her dialogue, her characters, or her gripping cliffhangers. But her cogent meditations and snide asides on politicking and politicos are absolutely on target and a pleasure to read. --Kelly Flynn