Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her 25-year-old assistant Kay Thompson investigate a politically fraught murder in Yardley's competent sequel to Eleanor and the Cold War. In late December 1951, Eleanor and Kay are in Miami for a series of meetings organized by the American Association for the United Nations. Also in town is Josephine Baker, the internationally renowned singer and Mrs. Roosevelt's old acquaintance. When a man is shot to death in Josephine's locked dressing room, suspicion lands on the singer's young, Black assistant, Rosaleen, the only other person in the room with the victim. Meanwhile, the Ku Klux Klan has been carrying out cross burnings across Miami, and Josephine has been receiving anonymous threats. Given Eleanor's connection to Josephine, Kay decides to put her sleuthing skills to work, trying to solve the seemingly impossible murder despite pushback from Klansmen, Miami police, and CIA officers. In addition to the first lady, Kay is assisted by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, private detective Tim O'Malley. Yardley has fun weaving real-life figures into the narrative, but her characters are a bit two-dimensional. Still, this is a diverting-enough whodunit that should please fans of lighthearted historical mysteries. Agent: Evan Marshall, Marshall Agency. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her secretary Kay find themselves embroiled in another investigation (after Eleanor and the Cold War). It's December 1952, and Eleanor has arrived in Miami to speak at several events related to her involvement in the United Nations. Shortly after Eleanor's arrival, Josephine Baker invites her to attend one of her performances. Tensions are high, as the KKK continues to target Black people and their allies. Josephine's assistant Rosaleen comes to Eleanor because of threats her boss has been receiving. Fearing for Josephine's safety, Eleanor asks retired detective Tim O'Malley (Kay's ex-boyfriend) to protect her; if Tim and Kay can rekindle their romance, Eleanor would find that an added benefit. But when Rosaleen is arrested after being discovered in a locked room with a man who has been shot, Eleanor knows something more is going on. Between threats from the KKK, wartime secrets, and more murders, the two women may not live to ring in the new year. VERDICT Yardley recreates the simmering tensions of the postwar era to weave an engaging mystery that will appeal to readers of Alison Montclair and Rhys Bowen.--Julie Ciccarelli
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