Path of Peril by Marlie Parker Wasserman is a fictionalized account of Teddy Roosevelt’s trip to inspect the Panama Canal and associated assassination attempt.

Accompanied by his wife and an entourage of White House and protection staff, Roosevelt sees firsthand Panama’s challenges and inequalities. The plot weaves the stories of White House secretary Maurice Latta and journalists with the events surrounding the President’s inspection of the canal project against a backdrop of an assassination plot.

The story includes a staggering number of characters, way too many for this reader to keep track of and most chapters are semi-standalone stories that describe each character’s role in the assassination attempt. The descriptions of characters and the setting are vivid and make for an interesting and engaging read. I would have liked a faster-paced development of the plot with less characters to remember.