August 1, 2024
Yardley, a pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling author, launches a new series with Eleanor Roosevelt as sleuth, along with her trusty private secretary, 25-year-old Kay Thompson. Together the two investigate the murder of a Swedish woman in Washington's Union Station. The Soviets might be involved, and Eleanor, Kay, and a handsome detective are determined to find out why. Prepub Alert.
Copyright 2024 Library Journal
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
December 13, 2024
This mystery debut by a pseudonymous historical fiction writer puts former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt at the center of a Cold War murder. Asked by atomic scientist Elsa Meyer to find her missing daughter, Eleanor discovers that the young woman was murdered. Finding fault with a lazy police investigation, Eleanor, assisted by her temporary secretary Kay Thompson, sets about untangling the waitress-cum-spy's last days. Mrs. Roosevelt draws on diplomatic connections, and Kay contributes the plucky street smarts of a working girl who navigates a decidedly male world. Even as her admiration for Eleanor grows, Kay never loses her focus on securing a husband, with candidates including a forthright police detective, a stern Russian defector, and a young congressman by the name of Kennedy. Peppered with references to familiar historical personalities from 1951 and cameos from both RFK and JFK, this is an easy read, but the plot is light, and the characters never really come to life; even those drawn from history lack depth. VERDICT Readers who are looking for diversion might find the novel's historical aspects appealing, but those who enjoy cleverly devised mysteries with well-observed characters should look elsewhere.--Caitlin O'Leary
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2025
Eleanor Roosevelt's temporary secretary finds that solving murders is part of her duties. When she starts working for Mrs. Roosevelt in 1951, Kay Thompson thinks her job will be interesting and possibly glamorous. Little does she know. Her world changes when she and her employer open the door of a washroom on theRoyal Blue train standing in Washington's Union Station and find the body of a young woman Mrs. Roosevelt had been searching for. Elsa Meyer, an atomic scientist living in Sweden, had asked Mrs. Roosevelt to try to find her daughter, Susan, because she was afraid Susan had been recruited by the Soviets. Kay, who quickly learns that the former first lady is tough as nails, still worries that the State Department will be furious because Kay failed to keep her out of trouble. She notices that whoever was in the room with Susan was wearing the distinctive and expensive Caswell-Massey Number Six cologne, ruling out the porter as a leading suspect. Going to call the police, Kay sees a distinctive-looking man and an exhausted woman with an unruly child who'll play important roles. When the police arrive in the form of handsome Det. Timothy O'Malley and his rude and racist partner, Det. Barlow, Mrs. Roosevelt explains that Susan had been using the name Susie Taylor, wanted to be an actress, had a lover, and may have been involved in espionage. So, which of those entanglements provided the motive for her murder? Sleuthing with Mrs. Roosevelt makes Kay, whose sole previous ambition was to find an attractive, well-off man to marry, completely change her goals. An engrossing story set in an era of communist hysteria.
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