Format: Paperback, 416 pages
Release Date: August 22, 2023
Publisher: Kensington Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thrillers / Historical
As WWII rages overseas, a serial killer preys on women working in Seattle’s factories in this provocative blend of vivid, richly detailed historical fiction and taut suspense from New York Times bestselling author Kevin O’Brien.
1943, Seattle. While raging war reshapes the landscape of Europe, its
impact is felt thousands of miles away too. Before the war, Nora Kinney
was one of countless housewives and mothers in her comfortable Capitol
Hill neighborhood. Now, with her doctor husband stationed in North
Africa, Nora feels compelled to do more than tend her victory garden or
help with scrap metal drives . . .
At the Boeing B-17 plant, Nora
learns to wield a heavy riveting gun amid the deafening noise of the
assembly line—a real-life counterpart to “Rosie the Riveter” in the
recruitment posters. Yet while the country desperately needs their help,
not everyone is happy about “all these women” taking over men’s jobs.
Nora worries that she is neglecting her children, especially her
withdrawn teenage son. But amid this turmoil, a sinister tragedy occurs:
One of Nora’s coworkers is found strangled in her apartment, dressed in
an apron, with a lipstick smile smeared on her face.
The Enemy at Home, by author Kevin O’Brien, marks his trade paperback debut with this historical serial killer thriller set in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle) during WWII! This shift from his previous contemporary suspense novels allows us to expand his readership to historical fiction and upmarket WWII-era fiction readers. Unlike much of the WWII historical fiction being published right now, The Enemy at Home doesn’t take place in Europe or revolve around espionage or other wartime machinations.
It takes place in Seattle, where the impact of WWII is felt through the absence of men, women’s entrance into the workforce with “Rosie the Riveter” factory jobs, and the presence of Japanese internment camps. The primary character in this story is 37-year-old Nora Kinney whose husband, Pete Kinney, a physician, joined the military to help out in the war effort. At the Boeing B-17 plant, Nora learns to wield a heavy riveting gun amid the deafening noise of the assembly line—a real-life counterpart to “Rosie the Riveter” in the recruitment posters.
Yet while the country desperately needs their help, not everyone is happy about “all these women” taking over men’s jobs. Nora worries that she is neglecting her children, Chris (17) and Jane (12) especially her withdrawn teenage son who has been carrying not only a lot of baggage, but some eye popping secrets as well. But amid this turmoil, a sinister tragedy occurs: One of Nora’s coworkers is found strangled in her apartment, dressed in an apron, with a lipstick smile smeared on her face.
She will not be the first nor the last as the serial killer seems to be sending a message to the women in the workforce providing vital resources that will eventually help the US win World War II that they belong at home, not in the workplace. As more women are killed, Nora also takes on the task of investigating the murders and she finds herself in over her head, putting both herself and her loved ones in danger. Nora's life twists in ways she never knew possible when she rents out an apartment to a man named Joe, and her brother returns after being hurt in the Pacific.
*Thoughts* I know I have said this before, and I say this again, but I love taking notes while I am reading. I make a list of characters, as well as places, and follow them to uncover who may or may not be involved in the serial killings. I figured out who it was about half way in the story. Nora has so much baggage on her shoulders in this story. She has to deal with a missing husband, she has to deal with ration cards, and she has to deal with Chris who seems eager to push all of Nora's buttons by doing really idiotic, and yes, brave things behind her back.
This story hits on several key subjects, but the one that most concerns me is the treatment of Japanese-American citizens who lost their Constitutional rights because of a President who saw them as an enemy. Those who had sheltered them in the past with jobs and places to live
were the targets of that anger. Pete's wife and two children were part
of that targeting. If you know anything about History, you know that the US has also done similar things under then President Wilson. Politicians love to say that we can't move forward without understanding our future, but today people in schools want to ignore the past, or rewrite it in ways that make no sense.
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