I'm not entirely sure where I acquired this book, although I think it might have been one of those book club things. I remembered nothing about it from my first time through, and after the second time, I see why. The characterizations are weak, the plot is okay but poorly executed, and the writing is barely adequate, and occasionally laughably bad.

Whoever wrote the copy for the dust jacket must have been drinking when they came up with the following: "With her unparalleled understanding of Washington and its players, and her savvy sense of how strange bedfellows cut deals even in the midst of mayhem, Margaret Truman always delivers the most sophisticated and satisfying suspense. Murder at Ford's Theatre is her most compelling, insightful novel yet, sure to earn her a standing ovation from her many fans and new followers alike." Maybe she wrote that herself?

P.S. Turns out the author is President Harry Truman's daughter?!

Read it a long time ago. Actually for foreigners it's nice to read a thriller with history background. I did not realize it's a series until now! And even more surprisingly, the author is a first daughter, wow! I think I am going to read through the series before I have a chance to visit Washington DC.

As advertised on the tin: there's a murder. At Ford's Theater. Protagonist? Less plucky. Additional Colorful Characters? Sure. CAN YOU SOLVE THE MYSTERY? Mostly.

Listened to audio book. Spot-on descriptions of characters that fall into classic archetypes. Full of rich detail on the Washington and arts milieu, with a clever weaving-in of Lincoln trivia. The story itself is serviceable.

This book comes with a history lesson about historic events at Ford's Theatre as Mac Smith finds himself back in the courtroom representing the son of the theater's director, who has been nominated to head the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The son has been charged with the murder of a young intern who has been linked romantically with the boy's Senator father. An intriguing read for many mystery fans!

fun easy read - more fun if you've visited Washington and know all the places she mentions!

A good one

Very little politics in this one, but it does give a lot of interesting details about Abraham Lincoln. The big question, who killed the intern? This story has a couple of twists.

Of all the Margaret Truman mysteries, this was my favorite!

A good mystery with complex characters.

Even I could identified the killer well before the end.

A Senator's young intern is murdered outside the famous Ford's Theater. There's a lot of history contained in her books which is appealing to me. I enjoyed this book and it has inspired me to hit a used book store to get the older books in the series that my library does not carry.

I was headed to D.C. so I wanted a book to read about the city. I knew about this series so this was my choice. It was an enjoyable read, but too much happened too fast at the end. Still, it served the purpose. I enjoyed reading about the city. Also, Truman has some good insider cynicism about the town.