Kevin O'Brien (The Enemy at Home) presents another fast-paced historic thriller splendidly enhanced with 1940s details in Everyone a Stranger, his 24th novel.
Desperate to hide from a villainous politician, a pregnant widow flees Washington, D.C., for Seattle, only to stumble into a mysterious plot that threatens not just her but also the U.S. war effort. Virginia Abrams, 27, is alone after her husband's death at Guadalcanal. She is flattered when a prominent senator's dashing son invites her to dinner, but the date ends with him assaulting her. She learns she is pregnant and appeals to the senator for financial help, but he responds by hiring a henchman to silence her. Terrified, she slips out of Washington and arrives in Seattle as "Ginny Moore," hoping for safety and a new life. She secures a job with a famous mystery novelist and warily befriends her neighbors, but then one of them dies in a fall. The neighbor's earnest teenage son, Timmy, insists it was no accident, and Virginia's soft heart is drawn to assuring justice is done.
Timmy's obsession with Nazis and potential espionage seems far-fetched but eventually Virginia finds him credible, increasing her anxieties. Suspicions of a "safe house" for spies; a handsome, solicitous neighbor who keeps odd hours; and more sudden deaths add to the intrigue. When danger threatens the entire city, she wisely confides in her boss, who contributes his detective skills to the escalating mystery. Their sleuthing leads to a meticulously executed high-stakes climax, bringing Virginia's and Timmy's home-front bravery to the fore. --Cheryl McKeon, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.