Audio Review

“The White House Pantry Murder” by Elliott Roosevelt. Read by Nelson Runger. Unabridged on five cassettes. Recorded Books.

Roosevelt’s mysteries featuring Eleanor Roosevelt as the resident sleuth are uncommonly charming and interesting. The glimpses of his parents and other real-life personages from the F.D.R. era (here including Winston Churchill and Harry Hopkins) ring with observed truth. The reader has no doubt that this is what it must have been like during Churchill’s visit to F.D.R. during Christmas, 1941. The plot involves both murders and an espionage ring within the White House. While the surprises are not thunderous, the feeling of immediacy is great and the narrative pace never stumbles. Runger’s reading is calm and precise but also nicely varied in accent and emphasis. *** 1/8. Information: (800) 638-1304.