The epigraph for R. J. Koreto’s new mystery reads: I valued my independence from an early age and was always something of an individualist. Well, a show-off anyway. This is Alice Roosevelt speaking in an interview late in her life as she reflects on her place in American society and politics for 60-plus years. Though not particularly profound, these words perfectly set the jaunty, daring tone for ALICE AND THE ASSASSIN.

In the end notes, Koreto explains where he has stayed true to the life of Alice Roosevelt and where he has strayed to imagination. Since the events prompting this adventure are over a hundred years old, readers may feel free to enjoy the aura of life in the New York of 1902 without serious fact-checking. There are some nice touches of turn-of-the-century language --- the impervious Alice questions a flustered suspect, and he takes another swig of whisky, looking for “more Dutch courage.” Koreto also establishes the class hierarchy more evident then as the Roosevelts claim privilege and standing as “New Yorkers” again and again. And there are many moments where the reader is shown that not much beyond the Hudson River, such as the entire state of Montana or the exotic city of San Francisco, is worthy of serious consideration.

"The unlikely friendship between the Montana cowboy-turned-Rough Rider-turned-bodyguard and the beautiful, strong-willed teenager with resources and grit turns out to be a nice part of the story."

Alice’s father, of course, is Theodore Roosevelt, who became President of the United States after the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. Alice was 17 years old when her father moved to the White House in Washington, D.C. while she stayed behind in New York City with her aunt, Anna Roosevelt Cowles, an extremely intelligent and proper Republican woman. Alice’s habit of breaking society’s rules about proper decorum for a young woman shocked the American public. President Roosevelt’s daughter smoked publicly, placed bets with a bookie, and overspoke everyone with her sassy questions and demands. Much of Alice’s character is based on well-researched facts, but the adventure that she and her bodyguard, Special Agent Joseph St. Clair of the Secret Police, embark upon is fiction.

Agent St. Clair, who earned Alice’s admiration by shooting dead-center holes through all four aces in her deck of cards, unwillingly escorts her through the seedy sides of New York City. Since the assassin, Leon Czolgosz, was executed very quickly after his trial, Alice is concerned that there may be other anarchists who might threaten her father. Her curiosity regarding Czolgosz is heightened after she obtains the name and address of the woman known to be his associate, and she and St. Clair are threatened immediately after they have spoken with her. Surprising incidents through chance conversations at a party, manipulations of family friends and optimal use of her powerful last name, Alice and St. Clair uncover layers of deception and greed. The assassination of the President of the United States, it would seem, may have been secondary to the real corruption and violence happening in Buffalo that day.

The unlikely friendship between the Montana cowboy-turned-Rough Rider-turned-bodyguard and the beautiful, strong-willed teenager with resources and grit turns out to be a nice part of the story. St. Clair seems mystified at times with Alice, and she with him, and the friendship they establish is both lopsided and real. President Roosevelt famously declared that he could control the nation or he could control Alice, but he could not do both. In ALICE AND THE ASSASSIN, R. J. Koreto proves that truth.