Soon after Madame Chiang’s arrival, an unknown Asian man is found dead in the Map Room on the second floor of the White House. Inspection of the body reveals a driver’s license issued to George Shen of San Francisco. Police and government officials examine other papers found on the body. One document appears to be in code. When decoded, this paper seems to indicate potential, surprising threats from the Japanese in the Indian Ocean.

Eleanor Roosevelt is determined to unravel the mystery of George Shen. (1.) How did he get past security into the White House? (2.) Who killed him? (3.) Is the Japanese threat in the Indian Ocean a real one that requires commitment of US forces in a third theater?

Murder in the Map Room should appeal to readers who enjoy historical mysteries and those that are interested in stories with a political slant. Apart from the mystery of George Shen, this book is full of references to important people of the time, and reveals something of their personal idiosyncrasies. A more in depth revelation of the personality of Madame Chiang Kai-Shek also plays a prominent role in the book. As an Asian of rank, Madame Chiang’s view of the world and the war is in marked contrast to Mrs. Roosevelt’s view.

As a mystery, Murder in the Map Room is somewhat melodramatic and more than a bit implausible. Though the author attempts to explain logically how an uninvited person could slip past security guards, I find it hard to believe that persons responsible for protecting the President of the United States and his family are not more diligent. Another situation I found implausible was the rapidity with which fingerprints were checked in the FBI files. Today, checks are done by computers which speeds up the task exponentially, but in 1943, a person had to individually compare each fingerprint, a very time consuming task, not something done in a day as the author suggests.

There is a definite contrast between Mrs. Roosevelt’s uncanny abilities as a detective, and the decided lack of intuitiveness on the part of law enforcement officials. Certainly, individuals whose job it is to solve crimes and by virtue of their rank must be quite good at it -- at least Mrs. Roosevelt’s intellectual equal in these endeavors. But clearly she surpasses them every time. In addition, they often defer to her better judgment. Obviously, she is the wife of the President and a very bright lady, but they have specific training in detection and her abilities are more wide ranging. It makes the plot weaker for the experts to be constantly bringing information to the first lady for her to interpret.

Those readers interested in the history of the period, and the famous names of the times will find more than enough to keep their interest in Murder in the Map Room, but readers looking for a good mystery would be best advised to look elsewhere.

--Andy Plonka