Murder at the palace

Eleanor Roosevelt #5

by Elliott Roosevelt

An Eleanor Roosevelt Mystery

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Cozy, Cozy Mystery, British Literature

179 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1987

About the author

Elliott Roosevelt (September 23, 1910 – October 27, 1990) was an United States Army Air Forces officer and an author. Roosevelt was a son of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Reviews

[MaryJo Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of mysteries is rather unique, written by Elliott Roosevelt, the son of Franklin D. and
Eleanor. Another well known child of a president, Margaret Truman, also wrote mysteries, but Elliot places his mother in the position of the clever sleuth. And it works!
With the rich background of possibilities provided by the years F.D.R. was in the White House,
the author combines his perspective of Mrs. Roosevelt's personality with very good plots.

In the 5th book featuring Mrs. Roosevelt, she has made a trip to England in 1942 as her husband's ambassador - a role she often took, as history verifies. While staying at the palace as a guest of the king and queen, a man of distinction with his own suite of rooms at the palace is murdered.
Of course the victim is not what he at first seems, the suspects line up, and while fulfilling her
full schedule of duties the first lady takes a very keen interest in the investigation.

Not only was the read from the whodunit perspective great fun, but so was a peek into the
personalities of key players of the war years and the decades which were to follow. This is the
one and only time - that I'm aware of - that Elliott himself makes a brief appearance in the story.

[Heather Ames · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up for the curiosity value...one book from a mystery series written by a former First Lady's son, this one with a murder set in Buckingham Palace during WWII. I hoped to be fascinated by details, but most of them involved a lot of hard liquor, attention to small blazes in multiple fireplaces and lackluster characters who did not jump off the page, even the author's mother.
There were a lot of meals, too. Eating and drinking, multiple viewpoints to suit whatever information needed to be given were plot devices that muddled information and dragged out the length of the book.

Determined to see if my slow progress had anything to do with the fact that I picked it up sporadically and read a chapter or two, or whether it was really as ho-hum as I believed, I made it my primary book and finished it without liking it any better. As a period piece, it fell short of describing London apparently post Blitz but with a continued black-out every night and rationing that severely limited food that wasn't sent to the troops. The one place that smacked (pun intended) of authenticity was when a character was eating turnips, which had been fed to pigs before the war made it necessary for human consumption.

I will not be back for 'seconds.'

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author has Eleanor Roosevelt solve mysteries like she is doing a puzzle, or perhaps a game of chess. Sometimes she makes a wrong turn, but then more information comes to light, and she works it into the pattern she is creating. It is fascinating. I also enjoy the historical portions, particularly in this one, since I read the Rhys Bowen Maisie Dobbs book that mentions Eleanor's trip to England from the British point of view. They both mention her codename "Rover", but Ms. Bowen explains the origin of the codename. Ms. Roosevelt was well-known for losing her bodyguards and going her own way, or perhaps just stopping the car when she saw something she wanted to know more about. She spoke to people from all walks of life to find out what their problems were, and sometimes what work they did, especially women. During the war, she was particularly interested in how British women stepped up to help in the war effort, and how they did so. Mr. Roosevelt hints at all this without coming out and stating what she is doing. He has a character be fascinated by her and the way her mind works instead and leaves the reader to figure out why.

[Deborah Gebhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read any Elliott Roosevelt's Eleanor Roosevelt mysteries, but for all the short-time frame in the book, it was a slow read. As I had just read the first of his "Blackjack" Endicott novels, which was a fast fun read, this one was a disappointment.
1942, Eleanor is visiting England representing her husband. The plan, to visit various allies, review the aftereffects of Nazi bombings and visiting the troops.
While staying at Buckingham Palace there is a murder of one of the king's equerries, Sir Anthony Brooke-Hardinge. And Eleanor invites herself into the investigation.
Strangely, Sir Anthony was hosting a late dinner party filled with his personal enemies, of which there were quite a few. Sir Anthony was a less-than-nice man, with less than scrupulous habits, but murder is murder, deserved or not.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

#5 in series. -1942 and UK. E Franklin has sent Elenor to the united kingdom in 1942 to meet with the king and queen, young princesses, exiled heads of state fleeing Hitler and to tour military installations giving cheer and support and courage to the soldiers. When her scotland yard escort/bodyguard is a suspect in a murder in Buckingham palace, Eleanor sticks her nose into the inquiries especially late after all of her official duties. We meet many of the people FDR was working with during the war, including their son Elliott.
12 invitations sent out to people with reasons to hate Sir Antony, belatedly discover he has been murdered and his body is discovered while they all await his tardy arrival. All become suspects in the murder.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

WWII is raging. President Roosevelt is stuck in Washington, D.C. His wife Eleanor goes to Britain to meet with heads of state and visit the American troops. And solve a murder.
The group of suspects had their reasons for seeing Sir Anthony dead. All had opportunity. Which one is guilty? The clues point this way and that. Time is running out for Eleanor as she must leave London in a week.
This mystery series can seem tame yet is still interesting because of the historical aspects. They are quick, fun reads.

[Helenk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another quaint mystery with Eleanor Roosevelt as the chief detective. Easy reading (I read them while working out). This time Eleanor is in London, 1942. She meets with the Royal Family--interesting facts on the restrictions they placed on themselves so that they were experiencing the same difficulties their subjects were undergoing. The mystery actually takes place in the palace--hence the title. I look forward to advancing to book #6 in the series.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleanor Roosevelt helps solve another crime!

This one wasn't as good as Murder and the First Lady, but maybe that's just because by now the novelty of "Mrs. Roosevelt? Investigating a crime? Wha?!?" has worn off. Still, it's a fun read.

When I first started reading it, I was powering through it so quickly that I decided to put it aside while I read other books (ate my vegetables, as it were), then returned to it when I needed quick pick-me-ups.

[Sharon Bezrutczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all of this series.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy this one as much as the last, but Eleanor is branching out to the UK in this one.

[Samantha Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was wrong about the killer🥲

[Sally Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little mystery with Eleanor Roosevelt as the main character. I had never read one of her son Elliott's books, but I enjoyed this very much and will seek out others.

[Jessica Leffelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun mystery read from Mr Elliott Roosevelt. Gripping story that keeps you turning the pages until you just can't put it down.

[Ellen Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, which was set in England during WWII. Eleanor Roosevelt is in London representing her husband, FDR. A man is murdered in the palace, and Mrs. Roosevelt assists an employee of Scotland Yard in investigating and solving the murder. She is involved in many ways late every night in addition to her previously scheduled duties. Some famous persons mentioned in the book include Winston Churchill and General Dwight Eisenhower. There are several suspects since the murder victim was not a nice person and had many enemies. The book gave a good picture of England in wartime and of the relationship between the USA and England. The courage and common sense of the First Lady is evident in her son's novel.

[Carolyn]

I love Elliot Roosevelt's mystery books that are based on his Mother, Eleanor Roosevelt.
Although some of the events are true, the mystery, murder, and conversations are not. Elliot makes it clear that the stories are fiction, but he uses names, ( with the persons permission ) places and bits of historical truth to make the stories more interesting.

I have now collected all of the books Elliot wrote that revolved around his Father, FDR, and his mother Eleanor. They are fast reads, if you have the time ( lol ) to sit and forget your day to day cares.

I've read a couple of his other books and will share my thoughts on them as I have the time to sit at my computer.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the back door view of Buckingham Palace and the time spent with the \king and Queen. Another fun run through history.

[Sarah Erlewine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite one by this author, but still a good rainy day read.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light fun read. Eleanor Roosevelt as sleuth is quite endearing.