Murder at the Watergate

June 1, 1998
Truman's capital crime wave reaches 15 volumes (Murder in the House, 1997, etc.) as the locale in which one presidency died becomes the focus for a murder that may doom the aspirations of a would-be president. Vice President Joseph Aprile, whose code name "Straight Arrow" will make readers think of Al Gore, is determined to stake out a position on Mexico different from his president's as he prepares to seek the Oval Office in the next election. Mackensie Smith, law professor at George Washington University and a friend of Aprile's, is in an ideal position to help, since he is already scheduled to be in Mexico as a U.N. election observer. When Mackensie accepts a clandestine assignment to meet with a Mexican rebel leader on Aprile's behalf, he is launched into a dangerous and deadly game involving diplomats and assassins, politicians and traitors, aristocrats and rebels. Truman's characterizations--from hard-driven deputy chief of staff Chris Hedras to wealthy party hostess Elfie Dorrance--remain fairly shallow. But her plot is well grounded in the realities of Mexico-U.S. relations, and she manages a couple of nasty surprises that enliven the all too predictable finish.