Rosalie Curzon, a Washington, D.C., call girl, is found bludgeoned to death in her Adams-Morgan apartment. The murder scene is in a disturbing state of disarray, suggesting that Rosalie had fought to the bitter end. The cops discover a video camera nestled high on a bookshelf. Had the victim taped some of her clients during their sexual liaisons?
As the investigation proceeds, so does business inside the Beltway. President Burton Pyle is running for reelection. His opponent, consummate politician Robert Colgate, is expected to easily defeat Pyle, whose administration has been rife with corruption and scandal. Colgate, though, is not without cracks in his slick exterior. Rumors swirl about his failing marriage and various dalliances. Moreover, there's no love lost between the two candidates: The campaign has morphed into one of the most distasteful and nasty in memory.
Then, on a bright Saturday afternoon on the Washington Mall, the daughter of Colgate's closest friend is kidnapped. The abduction rocks the nation's capital, but no one is prepared for the bombshell about to hit the city, an explosive development that erupts when the police uncover a shocking connection between the kidnapping and the Curzon case - and a killer whom no one will see coming.

A Washington call girl is found murdered, and videos of certain prominent clients are discovered. One of those clients is a candidate for president--can he survive the discovery? Patrick Lawlor presents the lead detective, Walter Hatcher, a gruff and bristly old-time cop who hasn't adjusted to woman or blacks on the force. Differences in the other characters are less obvious, but each is clearly drawn through pace and tone. Lawlor's enthusiastic narration also catches the tone of campaigning and the skill of spin doctors. Special effects are used for telephone conversations, which give the feeling of listening over the characters' shoulders. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

 

MARGARET TRUMAN (1924-2008) won faithful readers with her works of biography and fiction, particularly her ongoing series of Capital Crimes mysteries. She was the author of many nonfiction books, including The President's House, in which she shared some of the secrets and history of the White House, where she once resided. She passed away on January 29, 2008.

Murder Inside the Beltway by Margaret Truman
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