The Rumor Game
In June 1943, Boston residents are agitated. Irish Catholics hate the rising numbers of Jews and African Americans. Union workers complain about hard work, long hours, and low wages in munitions factories. City police augment take-home pay with shakedowns and bribes. The Mafia looks for its own opportunities. Many locals sympathize with Hitler or at least want the U.S. out of its two-front war. In this cauldron, unmarried 24-year-old Anne Lemire struggles to make her way as a reporter writing columns intended to debunk rumors. Meanwhile, handsome new FBI agent Devon Mulvey checks out leads of sabotage against war industries and woos the many available women whose husbands are away fighting.
A dead worker, missing rifles, flyers spewing hatred, forged gas-ration stickers, and Jews beaten up and their shops raided, bring Anne and Devon together. She is on a big article that exposes the ugliness and may impel the police to do their jobs. He tracks down witnesses and evidence for prosecutions. They share what they have learned and easily fall into a roller-coaster romance. They both ignore the instructions of their superiors, which leads to serious jams and harrowing escapes. On top of all that, their family members might be involved.
The two strong-headed main characters feel authentic. Various subplots, many secondary characters, and frequent point-of-view shifts build to unexpected endings. Removing some of the secondary characters and descriptions would have made a more engaging novel. The absence of any essential telephone operators, even for long-distance calls, will distract some readers. The endnotes nicely sum up actual history and separate fact from fiction. Recommended for any reader wanting to know more about Boston in WWII.
