New Jersey senior senator John Frolich stood to the side of the bandstand with his friend, multimillionaire real-estate developer Marshall Jenkins. Both wore dark business suits; a sizable number of the 100 guests had chosen not to costume themselves. "Who persuaded the canal commission to hand over the barge tonight?" Frolich asked.

Not my favorite of her books.

This is the third mystery by Margaret Truman that I have read. In addition to Murder at the National Gallery I read Murder at the National Cathedral. I didn't think this book was as good as the others I have read. The plot was more about politics than solving the crime and I thought it was rather weak. Also, since it was written in 1986 and involves counterespionage against the Soviets, it is dated. To give Miss Truman (or Mrs. Daniel as she is sometimes referred to) credit in 1986 many people still thought of the Soviet Union as the great menace. This was the time of the Reagan presidency and Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as the "evil empire".

The basic plot is that a senator's daughter was killed by being bashed in the head several times with a blunt object. The victim was a journalism student. She had been at a party on a river barge just prior to her death. Joe Potamos is assigned to cover the story for his newspaper and he starts by interviewing the musicians who played on the barge. The lovely lady piano player, Roseanne Blackburn, has some interesting information but Joe's interest in her is more than the news story. As Joe starts to get further into the story he also becomes more involved with Roseanne. One of the victim's classmates claims to have her diary and he is willing to share it with Joe for part of the credit. When the classmate is also found dead with his head bashed in, Joe becomes very concerned about his safety. He almost accepts the bribe he is given by a famous columnist to leave the story alone. Of course, that's not how it ends. I was very disappointed by the ending but at least Joe and Roseanne come out of it alive and in love. ( )

An okay mystery involving the murder of a senators daughter and the investigation into the case by a newspaper reporter. A bit dated with the Soviets being the bad guys and a bit too hokey of a love story for the main character. ( )