The Attempted Murder of Teddy Roosevelt

October 1, 2019
A suspicious accident that almost gets the president killed prompts a Cabinet member to turn sleuth. In early September 1902, a runaway trolley car collides with the carriage of Theodore Roosevelt, who's campaigning in Massachusetts. Secret Service bodyguard Bill Craig is crushed to death. Most everyone considers this a freak accident, but the president, who looked into the eyes of the trolley's motorman, is convinced that the goal was his death. Solomon (The Murder of Willie Lincoln, 2017, etc.) assigns the telling of the tale to Roosevelt's secretary of state, John Hay, who feels bound to investigate. The police chief, at first evasive, ultimately admits that his department has investigated the French Canadian motorman, Euclid Madden. Because he and the conductor have been indicted, Madden's lawyer will not allow him to speak further until the inquest. Craig's funeral further inspires a sense of duty in Hay, who intermittently dives into The Hound of the Baskervilles for investigative inspiration. After Madden surprises everyone by pleading guilty to manslaughter, Hay questions him, and something doesn't seem right. Though plagued with self-doubt, Hay determines to probe further. As he proceeds, the president himself becomes his sounding board along with Clara, Hay's outspoken wife. Emancipated journalist Nellie Bly, Roosevelt's close friend and adviser George Cortelyou, and billionaire J.P. Morgan all figure prominently in his investigation, Bly even playing Watson to Hay's Holmes. It takes a second murder to bring the entire affair into sharp focus. Historian Solomon's meticulous details and the real-life figures woven into the narrative make it both informative and entertaining.

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December 1, 2019

In 1902, while touring New England, President Theodore Roosevelt is involved in an accident when his carriage is broadsided by a streetcar, killing his bodyguard. Roosevelt is convinced this was no accident and calls on his secretary of state, John Hay, to investigate the matter. Hay assisted President Lincoln with the investigation of his son Willie's death (The Murder of Willie Lincoln) is no stranger to detective work. Because Roosevelt succeeded President McKinley after his assassination at the hands of an anarchist, Hay begins with the anarchists, including the well-known rabble-rouser Emma Goldman. Besides Goldman, Hay's investigation puts him in the path of other well-known figures, including Henry Adams, J.P. Morgan, and even journalist Nellie Bly. The anarchist theory is quickly discarded, and Hay soon finds that the answer lies closer to home than he ever could have suspected. VERDICT Solomon incorporates many historically accurate events, details, and characters into this engaging story, based on an actual incident. Historical mystery fans who relish rich period details will be eager to see Hay again.--Melissa Stoeger, Deerfield P.L., IL

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2019
On September 3, 1902, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a streetcar crashed into the horse-drawn carriage carrying President Theodore Roosevelt, injuring him and killing his Secret Service agent. That much is true, and it's the basis for Solomon's second historical mystery (after The Murder of Willie Lincoln, 2017) featuring John Hay as narrator and amateur detective. Hay, now secretary of state, is summoned by TR to investigate the collision, which the president doesn't believe was accidental. Many could have a motive to kill TR, including Hay himself, since he is next in line of succession. But the investigation itself becomes a risk, as Hay is assaulted twice and warned to back off or risk both his life or that of Lizzie Cameron, a woman with whom the long-married Hay is guiltily infatuated. Solomon brings in other historical figures, as Hay interviews Emma Goldman and joins forces with Nellie Bly after a related murder is committed virtually in front of him. Best of all, Hay is a fallible, engaging character with interests in boxing and poetry as well as sleuthing, and his narration brings to life a time and place as it unravels a crime.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)