Murder at the Opera

Ms. Truman has done it again, with her Capital Crimes murder mystery series. I have had the opportunity and pleasure to read all of the books in order the past four months, and feel as if I've made some friends with the characters she kept weaving into her novels. Amazing that she was able to come up with fresh material and locations each time for her crimes to take place.

I have been reading Margaret Truman for years, and during that time, Mac and Anabelle Smith have become my favorite characters. Like her earlier title "Murder in Havana," this latest installment in the Capital Crimes series mirrors current events to create an intriguing, believable mystery. Truman is a master at giving the reader a taste of what life is like "inside the Beltway." I love the way she gets inside the minds of her characters, whether they be law enforcement, government agents or even her main characters to show their thought processes in terms of solving the various crimes she presents to her readers. I can't wait for her next installment!

Margaret Truman passed away today and her Washington based mysteries will be missed. "Murder at the Opera" is another of her superior works, disclosing the inside culture of Washington that few of us will ever see. 5 star book from an author who we will sorely miss.

love her mysteries---- i love the intrique and background of Washington D.C. which i knew some time ago

Margaret Truman's latest Capital Crimes novel is "Murder at the Opera," featuring Mackensie Smith and his wife, Annabel Reed-Smith. Mac, a former criminal defense attorney, teaches law at George Washington University; Annabel gave up her legal practice to open a Pre-Colombian art gallery in Georgetown. Mac and Annabel dine at the finest restaurants, live in a beautiful apartment in the Watergate, and routinely hobnob with Washington's elite. They also get involved in murder investigations. Their latest case is set in the Washington National Opera House at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mac and Annabel are busy preparing for a new production of Tosca, he as a "supernumerary" or extra, and she, as a member of the opera board. The drama of Tosca temporarily fades into insignificance when Charise Lee, a twenty-eight year old soprano from Canada, is found stabbed to death. At the opera board's behest, Mac asks a former policeman named Ray Pawkins, who happens to be an opera lover and supernumerary as well, to look into the crime. Naturally, Mac and Annabel weigh in with their ideas about who might have ended Charise's life. All this occurs against the backdrop of a vague terrorist threat hanging over Washington, D. C. There is talk that an unnamed militant group is planning an attack against prominent political leaders. Officials from intelligence agencies in America and abroad tap their confidential sources to gather vital information that may help thwart a potential tragedy. Margaret Truman is a workmanlike writer who knows how to construct a mystery so that the reader is hooked "until the fat lady sings." She populates her novels with a host of lively characters, and this one is no exception. Besides the urbane Mac and the attractive and brainy Annabel, there is Pawkins, an arrogant private investigator who dresses to kill and drives a Mercedes sedan. The question is, how does a former policeman manage to live so well? Sylvia Johnson and Willie Portelain are partners in Washington's police department who interview Lee's acquaintances, including her jittery roommate, pianist Christopher Warren, and her slimy agents, Philip Melincamp and Zoe Baltsa. Johnson and Portelain are both competent cops, but while she is a beautiful woman pursuing a degree in criminal justice, he is a street-smart veteran of the force with an oversized physique and an insatiable appetite for junk food. One of the hallmarks of Truman's mysteries is her insider's take on the events in our nation's capital. "Murder at the Opera" has a great deal of information about how an opera is mounted, as well a glimpse of the efforts of the rich and powerful to boost Washington's cultural image. In addition, Truman provides timely information about the ways in which the FBI, CIA, and the Department of Homeland Security react to the news of a possible terrorist action. "Murder at the Opera" is a breezy and fast-paced mystery, but it is marred by a disjoi