Book Review: Murder on the Potomac

Murder on the Potomac (Capital Crimes Book 12), by Margaret Truman (Fawcett, 2014, 354 pages, $21.00)

The Plot

Two high-powered Washington lawyers change careers and marry each other. Mac becomes a law professor and Annabel runs an art gallery, specializing in pre-Colombian objects. Both become enmeshed in one murder after another.

Mac witnesses a young child fall into the falls and has nightmares which come to fruition when the body of the assistant of a prominent Washington board member is found washed up on the edge of an island in the Potomac. Annabel is on the same board and Mac is a friend of the board member. Clues lead to an affair or two plus some money-lifting.

When numerous people enter the fray, including a comely female detective student of Mac’s who is finishing her PhD, an adopted Chinese young man also with a PhD who may be dealing in nefarious characters, a reenactment of a famous killing followed by a black-tie dinner, a young woman wanna-be actress who is the delivery person of unknown objects for her brother who is deeply in debt (gambling), Mac and Annabel are reluctantly drawn into the fray and happen upon the clues that lead to a dangerous solution.

The Author

Yes, the author was the daughter of Harry S. Truman, an only child, well-thought of and a talented classical soprano, actress, journalist, socialite, media personality, and writer.

Mary Margaret Truman, known as Margaret, authored a book about her father, another about her mother, and one about White House pets. Her name is also on this slew of ghostwritten murder mysteries set in Washington, DC, that are fabulous, as you can see.

The Setting

If you live or work in DC or have ever visited the city, you will select a particular Truman mystery that has meaning to you to become enmeshed in first. Perhaps you were in the military (Murder at the Pentagon). Perhaps you are interested in diplomacy (Murder at Foggy Bottom or Murder on Embassy Row), or the arts (Murder at the Kennedy Center), or the law (Murder in the Supreme Court, Murder at the FBI, or Murder in the House).

But, trust me, if you are merely a connoisseur of a good murder mystery tale, you will not become bogged down in the history of our nation’s capital. On the other hand, there are just enough tidbits of the famous landmark to bring back memories and educate the political novice. The pace accelerates. . . .

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Caveat: This book was purchased for review.

Other titles in the series of 31, in order:

Murder in the White House, 1980

Murder on Capitol Hill, 1981

Murder in the Supreme Court, 1982

Murder in the Smithsonian, 1983

Murder on Embassy Row, 1984

Murder at the FBI, 1985

Murder In Georgetown, 1986

Murder in the CIA, 1987

Murder at the Kennedy Center, 1989

Murder at the National Cathedral, 1990

Murder at the Pentagon, 1992

Murder on the Potomac, 1994

Murder at the National Gallery, 1996

Murder in the House, 1997

Murder at the Watergate,1998

Murder at the Library of Congress, 1999

Murder in Foggy Bottom, 2000

Murder in Havana, 2001

Murder at Ford’s Theater, 2002

Murder at Union Station, 2004

Murder at the Washington Tribune, 2005

Murder at the Opera, 2006

Murder on K Street, 2007

Murder inside the Beltway, 2008