In a mystery replete with “nonstop action and a brilliantly evocative setting,” a noted historian is murdered at the National Museum of Art (Booklist). Dr. Lewis Tunney, a brilliant historian who had stumbled onto an international art scandal, was brutally murdered in front of two hundred guests at an elegant party at the Smithsonian. Taking the case, DC police Cpt. Mac Hanrahan begins to … police Cpt. Mac Hanrahan begins to uncover a web of secrets, lies, and revenge surrounding the historian’s killing. From the deceased Tunney’s strong-willed fiancée, Heather McBean, to the congressmen with secrets to hide, Hanrahan finds himself unsure who to believe. Soon after, two more murders add to the intrigue.
Murder in the Smithsonian is the fourth volume in Margaret Truman’s beloved Capital Crimes series, in which Truman enlivens history with her first-hand knowledge as the daughter of US President Harry S. Truman. Each of the novels revolve around Washington, DC, and its landmarks. The Smithsonian’s museums, with their quirky staff, forensic scientists, and sometimes-spooky exhibits are the perfect setting for a thrilling political crime novel.
“Truman’s novels of Washington will continue to entertain both mystery and Washington buffs.” —The Washington Post
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The Smithsonian museums are filled with fascinating artifacts, so many displayed and so many hidden in private storage. On a visit you might encounter moon rocks, the Hope Diamond, a fossilized skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, ancient mummies, or in this mystery novel you might see a featured artifact that’s used to commit murder. With all the people who visit the museum, or who attend glittering Smithsonian events, the opportunity for intrigue tugs at the imagination. And why murder? Was it a robbery attempt of a priceless antiquity gone wrong? Or was the victim a target for some sinister reason? Who better to author this D.C. mystery, than a talented U.S. President’s daughter?
The police detective called to the scene is under intense pressure to solve this case quickly. He’s being second guessed by members of the Smithsonian Institution, prominent political figures, the media and a very distraught victim’s fiancé. He’s not one to be rushed though. According to the Smithsonian Institute, their goal is to better predict the future by examining the past. Just as the museum scientists and librarians scrupulously preserve, catalogue, and organize exhibit artifacts, our detective does the same in gathering his clues, examining this murder to predict how he’ll catch a killer.
This author cleverly weaves in interesting history and little known facts about the Smithsonian. Tracking the past of the murder weapon, we’re led to London, and then follow the trail to Scotland and an ancient Scottish castle. By the time we’re back in D.C., the clues are adding up.
First daughter Margaret Truman was 10 years old when her father was elected Senator and served for seven years. The family split their time between D.C. and Missouri. She was a college student, majoring in history, when her father was sworn in as Vice President. Less than three months later, he was President.
A very talented writer, Margaret’s first book was a memoir of her Missouri childhood and her years at the White House. The New York Herald Tribune’s book review section called it “a gracefully written tale of an average American girl drawn by chance into the White House.” She went on to write biographies, and a dozen murder mysteries that came to be known as the Capital Crimes Series. These murders are scattered all over D.C. in many distinguished places including the White House.
Margaret Truman said, “I love books. I really, really love them. There’s something special about bringing people and books together.”
There were a fair number of qualities in this book that were four-star worthy: I liked the main characters, there was good suspense and “creep factor,” the pace moved right along, there was a good twist that left me trying to figure out who the villain actually was. One thing held me back from rating it four stars though: I felt like there were too many threads left dangling, too many ambiguities that were never satisfied, and too many secondary characters that weren’t fleshed out quite enough for my preferences…so it was the lack of filling out the fringes of the story that prevented me from rating it higher.