Historical detective novel, but not what I hoped for

 The Enemy We Don't Know

by Liz Milliron

First of a series called "The Homefront Mystery." I finished it, because I made myself. But I didn't like it much, which is a shame. It had everything needed to be likeable--interesting characters, lots of dialog and lively scenes, historical perspective and no obvious bloopers I caught. But the story was...wooden. Written in a strange, simple style that made me feeling like I was reading a kids' book.

I can't explain exactly why I felt that way. But the threat of any kind of "adult issue" was strictly avoided and the whole thing was so squeaky clean it could have been read by a ten-year-old. I don't necessarily want blood and gore, violence and abuse, or even overt scenes of prejudice, Jew-bashing, or any other serious issue in my mysteries. But the strict avoidance of them feels weird, too.

Hard to explain. But I knew it when I read it, and I didn't like.