Murder at Ford's Theatre (Capital Crimes)

by Margaret Truman

Book Overview

It was the site of one of the most infamous assassinations in American history. Now bestselling mystery master Margaret Truman premieres a new murder at Ford's Theater-one that's hot off today's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449007383
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Fawcett
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.8" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Murder at the Ford Theatre

I Love these books, I love the insight and the stories. Keep them coming.

A Thoroughly Enjoyable Mystery

Margaret Truman's mysteries get better with each new one that appears. In this one, she uses Ford's Theatre as her site. Anyone who has visited Ford's Theatre will agree that she picked a place with the right atmosphere for a mystery. Someone murdered Nadia Zarinski in the alley behind Ford's Theatre. She was an intern for Senator Bruce Lerner, and there are rumors of an affair, so he is a suspect. The murder also casts an unwanted spotlight on Clarise Emerson, Lerner's former wife, head of the Ford's Theatre Society, and presidential nominee to chair the National Endowment for the Arts. Aging actor Sydney Bancroft claimed that Jeremiah Lerner, son of the Senator and Clarise, had been dating the victim. A surly brat, he ran when confronted by detectives, and was soon arrested for the murder. Clarise begs law professor Mac Smith to help her son. Mac and wife Annabel, an urbane couple, are in many of Margaret Truman's mysteries. Mac agrees to help, and the real mystery unfolds until it reaches a surprising climax. This is a splendid tale, with real characters (not cardboard) and a nice pace.

A great mystery set at Ford's Theatre in DC

Nadia Zarinski, intern to Senator Lerner, is found dead in the alley out back of Ford's Theatre in DC. She volunteered time at the Theatre now and then. She was found by Johnny Wales, a stage hand at the theatre. The only eyewitness to her murder is John Partridge. He is an alcoholic and thinks he is a CIA agent. He was sleeping it off in the alley.Detectives Rick Klayman and Mo Johnson are investigating this death. There are rumors that Nadia and Senator Lerner were involved. The Senator's ex-wife, Clarise, is the head of Ford's Theatre and was unaware that Nadia was volunteering time at the theatre. Clarise is also to be confirmed as the head of the National Endowment of Arts within the week.The Senator and Clarise's son Jeremiah becomes a suspect in the murder when a previous boyfriend of hers mentions that Jeremiah dated Nadia. That information is confirmed by another source. Mac Smith is now a professor of law. He is teaching a special class on Lincoln the lawyer. He was a criminal lawyer until a drunk driver hit and killed his first wife and only son. He is remarried to Annabel who was a divorce lawyer and now owns and operates a Columbia art gallery. Mac is asked by Clarise to assist Jeremiah when he is arrested. Mac and his former law partner Yale Becker represent Jeremiah. Detective Klayman wonders if they haven't been hasty in arresting Jeremiah. He's not convinced that all the other suspects were sufficiently interrogated. Mac and Annabel are surprised by the Senator's and Clarise's detachment from Jeremiah through this ordeal. Detective Klayman is very interested in President Lincoln and attends Mac's class. They are careful to not discuss this case, just Lincoln.I am very happy that Margaret Truman has returned to her Capital Crimes series. I like Mac and Annabel and always enjoy seeing Mac get involved in a murder investigation. They feel like very down-to-earth people to me. Like your neighbor next door. The Senator in this book was very well written. He was very detached and always too busy to deal with the daily problems. All of the peripheral characters were well constructed as well. In the end of the book, I found myself flip-flopping from thinking one person did it to another. I wasn't able to easily pick out the killer. A sign of a good mystery!I highly recommend this book and all the books in this series. The fact that I know the DC/VA area that was discussed always makes it more interesting.

Excellent addition!

Yes, it does remind one of the sorry scandal in Washington concerning Chandra Levy, and it makes one think these things still go on. No one ever learns....... Ms Truman is a reliable author, I alway enjoy her books. This one kept me reading and losing sleep in order to get to the solution. Many educational tidbits also given.A very worthwhile read and I remain a devoted reader of all her books. I am anxious to see where the next crime scene will take place. Surely, not the Botanical Gardens! :D

Delightful Addition to a Solid Series!

After a seventeen-novel run, you might think that Margaret Truman must have pretty well exhausted the possibilities for murder and mayhem on the Washington scene, but with "Murder at Ford's Theatre", she has found yet another fascinating new venue to explore in her popular 'Capital Crimes' series. Her real life premise? Restored to its original Civil War Era splendor and maintained by the National Park Service as an historic site, today Ford's is also a state-of-the-art, working theater run by the non-governmental Ford's Theatre Society. Fictional charismatic Clarise Emerson: former Hollywood TV producer, ex-wife of playboy Senator Bruce Lerner and presently a nominee for the Chairmanship of NEA is currently its producing director, but...aided by her new comptroller, Bernard Crowly...her primary concern is fund-raising and public relations, so she delegates the actual production mounting tasks to her staff of trained professionals including former Shakespearean matinee idol, Sydney Bancroft. When Sydney is a no-show at an early morning tech staff meeting, real life drama abruptly intrudes into Ford's make-believe world as a stagehand going out for a smoke stumbles over the badly beaten dead body of alluring volunteer intern, Nadia Zarinski. Seasoned police officers Rick Klayman and Mo Johnson 'catch' the case. As they pursue their investigation, among other confusing pieces of conflicting evidence, they uncover a romantic relationship between Nadia and Senator Lerner as well as one with his and Clarise's son, Jeremiah. After Jeremiah is arrested and charged with her murder, Clarise asks Lincoln scholar, legal expert and law professor Mac Smith and his wife Annabel...her close friends...to come to his rescue. In the novel's exciting denouement, their insiders' take on the tangled emotional environment at Ford's helps winnow out the real killer during a Gala evening at the Theatre while, on-stage, history almost repeats itself in a chilling tour de force performance by a madman.Margaret Truman has such a marvelous flair for capturing the minutiae of Washington's history as integral addenda to her thoroughly engrossing mysteries. She successfully combines a solidly-crafted police procedural format with completely believable characterizations and plenty of fast action to always provide an extremely pleasurable reading experience. I was especially interested in the material that I found here about the Theatre itself as well as Abraham Lincoln which made "Murder at Ford's Theatre" a thoroughly enjoyable read for me.