The Truth We Hide: A Homefront Mystery
In Buffalo in 1943, almost-newly-minted private detective Betty Ahern is busy studying the correspondence course to obtain her license when she is introduced to Edward Kettle. Recently fired from American Shipbuilding, Edward has been falsely accused of leaking Naval business to a reporter. But is he telling the whole truth? His subsequent murder sets Betty momentarily back on her heels, her inquiry now redundant, but his sister agrees to double her rate if she finds her dear brother’s killer.
Betty’s discovery that Edward was homosexual has her questioning her beliefs and prejudices, and the moral certitude with which she was raised. Along with help from her detective friend Sam, and a reporter from a seedy tabloid rag, Betty finds herself in a world of spies, Naval secrets, and black-market scams. Can she do the job justice amidst doubts about Edward’s behavior, even when she knows he was a good, kind man and a staunch patriot? And why does the particularly brutal nature of the murder seem so personal?
In the fourth Homefront Mystery, Betty narrates her way through her investigation, challenging liars, prevaricators, red herrings, and dead ends. Her mixed feelings about her journalist buddy add pertinent complications and her inner thoughts are endearingly colloquial. Following the tragedy of Pearl Harbor, industry in Buffalo became steeped in the war effort; patriotism mattered, and young men out of uniform looked suspicious. Appropriate to the times, telephone party lines were a common frustration, and an offer of a buck or two encouraged loose lips, particularly amongst boarding house landlords. Milliron uses balanced pacing, giving readers a timely story with enough control of the reins to encourage reflection on how far we’ve progressed from the homophobia of the 1940s, and how far we still have to go. A fine addition to the series with an engaging female sleuth.
