Murder in the Map Room

A Japanese spy is found murdered in the top-secret map room of the White House in 1943 during World War II while Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and her entourage are visiting the Roosevelts. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, along with the D.C. Chief of Detectives and a Secret Service Agent, solve the mystery. But Mrs. Roosevelt is shown going about her duties, for example, attending a celebrity auction and only assisting the professionals investigating the murder. Her son, author Elliott Roosevelt, realistically portrays his mother and father, FDR, and probably Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, too, who is a great character who dominates every scene she's in. Interestingly, the author mentions 19 year-old Margaret Truman who became a fellow mystery writer. The story was suspenseful especially with diplomacy involved and the urgency of the war going on. For someone who's been dead for nine years, Elliott Roosevelt writes a good mystery although Eleanor Roosevelt is always fascinating to read about.