Murder at the Watergate: A Novel (Random House Large Print) - Softcover

Truman, Margaret

3.65

927 ratings by Goodreads

9780375702945: Murder at the Watergate: A Novel (Random House Large Print)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0375702946 ISBN 13: 9780375702945

Publisher: Random House Large Print, 1998

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The Watergate in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's most famous addresses--          although not everyone knows exactly what it is. This imposing, fabulous complex is made up of a hotel, residences, restaurants, offices, shops, and more. It is a haven for the famous after they break out and, on occasion, for the infamous when they break in. Its very name has become part of our history.
           Margaret Truman, herself the bearer of one of the world's most famous names, knows Washington's ins and outs, including who is "in" and who is "out." In this absorbing, timely Capital Crimes mystery, she shows us around this fascinating city that is America's center of power and--some would say--corruption. Some of those who are "out" here are very dead indeed.
           The glittering cast of characters includes Vice President Joe Aprile, who plans to become president, if he can avoid a tempting vice; a glamorous Washington hostess and fund-raiser, Elfie Dorrance, with a propensity for marrying rich and powerful men and then grieving prettily at the end--their end; and Chris Hedras, a special assistant to the vice president, with some very special ambitions. And, of course, Annabel Smith, gallery owner, and Mac Smith, law school professor. The story deals in part with the influence on political campaigns of "soft money" and its hard consequences, as well as this country's tortuous and often ambiguous relationship with Mexico, in particular the glorious San Miguel de Allende, home of the well-to-do, and a few ill-to-do, a place involving drugs, politics, and police and politicians looking the other way.
           Once again Margaret Truman offers a delight to the reader who likes a fast-turning page, the pleasure of inside information, the allure of high life crossing paths with lowlife, and the return of the attractive crime-solving couple Mac and Annabel
From the Hardcover edition.

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Review:

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

From the Publisher:

The never-ending fascination with our nation's capital has made Margaret Truman's novels bestsellers everywhere, including in my territory in Southern California. She always is in the top 15 on the lists. And I'm looking forward to selling her new mass market paperback, MURDER IN THE WATERGATE, which we publish next summer.

--Nanci Andersen, Ballantine Sales

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