One wonders what will happen if and when Margaret Truman runs out of "appropriate" Washington, D.C., landmarks in and around which to stage her murders. Murder at the Watergate fits nicely into the mold with which Truman's fans have long been familiar: that elegant couple, Mac Smith and Annabel Reed, newly ensconced in their Watergate apartment, become enmeshed in a political imbroglio that leads--as it must--to murder. Their good friend, the vice president, finds that U.S. policy on Mexico can be one hot potato. Or tamale. The dueling factions of the Mexican-American Trade Alliance and the Mexico initiative--the former an "unoffical" but deeply menacing lobbying presence with a stake in maintaining the status quo, the latter a think tank bent on exposing corruption deep within Mexico's ruling party--weave a ragged tapestry of blackmail, bribery, assault, and murder that threatens to envelop both Mac and Annabel--and the administration itself. Truman hopscotches rather frantically around the globe and throws in a few over-the-top minor characters to keep the loyal reader hot on her trail. A less devoted reader may be tempted to abandon the chase somewhere in London.

One doesn't read Truman for her dialogue, her characters, or her gripping cliffhangers. But her cogent meditations and snide asides on politicking and politicos are absolutely on target and a pleasure to read. --Kelly Flynn


From Publishers Weekly
Truman's capital crime wave reaches 15 volumes (Murder in the House, 1997, etc.) as the locale in which one presidency died becomes the focus for a murder that may doom the aspirations of a would-be president. Vice President Joseph Aprile, whose code name "Straight Arrow" will make readers think of Al Gore, is determined to stake out a position on Mexico different from his president's as he prepares to seek the Oval Office in the next election. Mackensie Smith, law professor at George Washington University and a friend of Aprile's, is in an ideal position to help, since he is already scheduled to be in Mexico as a U.N. election observer. When Mackensie accepts a clandestine assignment to meet with a Mexican rebel leader on Aprile's behalf, he is launched into a dangerous and deadly game involving diplomats and assassins, politicians and traitors, aristocrats and rebels. Truman's characterizations?from hard-driven deputy chief of staff Chris Hedras to wealthy party hostess Elfie Dorrance?remain fairly shallow. But her plot is well grounded in the realities of Mexico-U.S. relations, and she manages a couple of nasty surprises that enliven the all too predictable finish. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Charles Salzberg
Truman, although a smooth stylist, is not a subtle writer.


From AudioFile
Gallery owner Annabel Smith and her husband, Mac, find themselves involved in a complex Washingtonian web of deceit and blind political ambition. The crime-solving couple becomes the target of a killer's revenge when they get just a bit too close to unraveling the corruption. Philip Bosco's dynamic acting capabilities and laid-back approach to performance result in a sophisticated and classic narration. His interpretation of the vice president and other Washington politicians is on target. Sarcasm is a useful asset as he portrays the unique relationship shared by Annabel and Mac as they go undercover. Bosco is a true professional, providing a tasty, dramatic performance. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
This is Truman's fifteenth book in her Capital Crime series. Here the requisite homicide takes place at the Watergate, home to everything from the Nixon-era burglary to Monica Lewinsky. The Watergate is also the new home of the popular Washington couple (and atypical detectives) Mac and Annabel Smith, so when a Mexican operative dies in the apartment complex's garage, who better than the dynamic duo to take the case. Anyone who picks up this novel had better be prepared to learn more about the Mexican economy and soft-money contributions from foreign countries then they may want to know. Although there are some reasonably interesting characters here, especially a powerful Washington hostess, this is not one of the more notable of Truman's mysteries. Buy it if the series has a standing audience at your library. Ilene Cooper


From Kirkus Reviews
Lg. Prt. 0-375-70294-6 As if it weren't already notorious enough for the break-in in Room 723 (now a one-room museum, as Truman announces in one of her atypically few insider notes), Washington's Watergate Hotel has become a kill zone from top (a researcher pushed from the roof gardens) to bottom (a Mexican union organizer gunned down in the basement garage). The link between the two killings is The Mexico Initiative, a nationalist lobby with close ties to the revolutionaries bent on overthrowing the PRI, Mexico's long-ensconced ruling party. Since it's important for US Vice President Joseph Aprile to make sure he's on the right side of the issue, he sends his old friend, crime-solving law prof Mackensie Smith (Murder in the House, 1997, etc.), south of the border to monitor the upcoming elections, and incidentally to serve as his unofficial envoy, perhaps even to meet with revolutionary leader Carlos Unzaga. It's a ticklish assignment, one that takes both Mac and his creator well out of their comfort zones. Beltway veteran Truman spices the tale with irrelevant reminiscences of power-broker Elfie Dorrance's four late husbands and juicier hints of scandals close to home, but the Mexican intrigue is marked by political analysis no deeper than you'd get from the next tourist. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The glittering cast of characters includes Vice President Joe Aprile, who plans to become president, if he can avoid a tempting vice; a glamorous Washington hostess and fund-raiser, Elfie Dorrance, with a propensity for marrying rich and powerful men and then grieving prettily at the end - their end; and Chris Hedras, a special assistant to the vice president, with some very special ambitions. And, of course, Annabel Smith, gallery owner, and Mac Smith, law school professor. The story deals in part with the influence on political campaigns of "soft money" and its hard consequences, as well as this country's tortuous and often ambiguous relationship with Mexico, in particular the glorious San Miguel de Allende, home of the well-to-do, and a few ill-to-do, a place involving drugs, politics, and police and politicians looking the other way.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Truman's capital crime wave reaches 15 volumes ("Murder in the House", 1997, etc.) as the locale in which one presidency died becomes the focus for a murder that may doom the aspirations of a would-be president. Vice President Joseph Aprile, whose code name "Straight Arrow" will make readers think of Al Gore, is determined to stake out a position on Mexico different from his president's as he prepares to seek the Oval Office in the next election. Mackensie Smith, law professor at George Washington University and a friend of Aprile's, is in an ideal position to help, since he is already scheduled to be in Mexico as a U.N. election observer. When Mackensie accepts a clandestine assignment to meet with a Mexican rebel leader on Aprile's behalf, he is launched into a dangerous and deadly game involving diplomats and assassins, politicians and traitors, aristocrats and rebels. Truman's characterizations--from hard-driven deputy chief of staff Chris Hedras to wealthy party hostess Elfie Dorrance--remain fairly shallow. But her plot is well grounded in the realities of Mexico-U.S. relations, and she manages a couple of nasty surprises that enliven the all too predictable finish.

Library Journal

When perennial crime solvers Mac and Annabel Smith moved into the Watergate, they hardly expected to be next door to the campaign headquarters of presidential aspirant Joseph Abrile, currently the vice presidentand they hardly expected him to be targeted for assassination by Mexican drug lords.

Kirkus Reviews

As if it weren't already notorious enough for the break-in in Room 723 (now a one-room museum, as Truman announces in one of her atypically few insider notes), Washington's Watergate Hotel has become a kill zone from top (a researcher pushed from the roof gardens) to bottom (a Mexican union organizer gunned down in the basement garage). The link between the two killings is The Mexico Initiative, a nationalist lobby with close ties to the revolutionaries bent on overthrowing the PRI, Mexico's long-ensconced ruling party. Since it's important for US Vice President Joseph Aprile to make sure he's on the right side of the issue, he sends his old friend, crime-solving law prof Mackensie Smith ("Murder in the House", 1997, etc.), south of the border to monitor the upcoming elections, and incidentally to serve as his unofficial envoy, perhaps even to meet with revolutionary leader Carlos Unzaga. It's a ticklish assignment, one that takes both Mac and his creator well out of their comfort zones. Beltway veteran Truman spices the tale with irrelevant reminiscences of power-broker Elfie Dorrance's four late husbands and juicier hints of scandals close to home, but the Mexican intrigue is marked by political analysis no deeper than you'd get from the next tourist.