The spirit of Chandra Levy hovers over Truman's latest Washington, D.C., mystery (Murder on the Potomac, etc.), which, despite a sometimes confusing plot and little suspense until the climax, should be as successful as other recent entries in this durable series. When the body of congressional intern Nadia Zarinski turns up outside the stage door of Ford's Theatre, D.C. police detectives Mo Johnson and Rick Klayman, who happens to be a Lincoln buff, are assigned the case. Nadia worked in the office of Senator Bruce Lerner, ex-husband of Clarise Emerson, head of Ford's Theatre and nominee for chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. Once Clarise determines with Klayman's help that her son, Jeremiah, was the last to see Nadia alive, she appeals to former attorney Mackensie "Mac" Smith to represent him. But there are other suspects as well: theater controller Bernard Crowley; aging, past-his-prime British actor and artistic director Sydney Bancroft; and Senator Lerner himself. Mac and his police cohorts find these ambitious power seekers an unpleasant lot. As usual, the location takes center stage, and the fun lies in seeing how the author uses the national landmark in the service of the drama. In this case, the Lincoln theme pulls the plot threads together and brings weight to the proceedings. The performance may be a bit contrived, but fans will enjoy the show. (Nov. 19) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Uncomfortably familiar: Nadia's past as an intern (and perhaps more) for a right-wing senator may figure in her murder. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Adult/High School-When Washington, DC, police detectives Mo Johnson and Rick Klayman arrive at this famous venue, they find the body of Nadia Zarinski, a congressional intern romantically linked to Senator Bruce Lerner. Fate throws in a twist when the detectives discover that the senator's ex-wife is directing the theater's current production. Their son becomes the number one suspect when the footprint from a pair of shoes he has matches the one found in the alley alongside the deceased. The investigation includes segues into discussions about Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth, and other historical tidbits. Suspects include just about everyone, with the murderer turning out to be someone who is easily overlooked. The best "scene stealing" belongs to Sydney Bancroft, an older, scheming, once-handsome leading man whose better days were long ago but who can't give up the stage. Without the graphic violence or vulgar language sometimes common to this genre, this mystery is lively and interesting.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, has operated as a working theater ever since its reopening in 1965--as Truman whispers in one of her hundreds of historical asides--but the real drama on the eve of the latest Ford's Festival opening is outside in Baptist Alley, where senatorial intern Nadia Zarinski is beaten to death. The murder is fraught with diplomatic problems. The alluring young victim was no better than she should have been. The boss to whom persistent rumors linked her romantically, Sen. Bruce Lerner, is the ex-husband of Clarise Emerson, the Ford producing director who's just been nominated to head the National Endowment for the Arts. And when salt-and-pepper Metro Police detectives Rick Klayman and Mo Johnson start asking questions about Nadia, American University students link her to Lerner's son Jeremiah, whose shoe left a distinctive footprint back in Baptist Alley. Even though Clarise leans on her old friend, Prof. Mackensie Smith, to assist in Jerry's defense, the case looks hopeless because the accused acts so guilty, lying about his relationship with Nadia and running away from his estranged father's custody. Truman provides such a strong A-list of suspects--with a featured role for a dotty old British ham who seems to be channeling John Wilkes Booth--that it's a real disappointment to see the killer emerge from the shadows of the B-list. Even so, this tightly focused detective yarn, shorn of Truman's uncomfortable fascination with international intrigue (Murder in Havana, 2001, etc.), gives Mac his best outing in years.