The Enemy We Know (Donna White Glaser)

Title: The Enemy We Know (Letty Whittaker 12-Step Mystery)
Author: Donna White Glaser
Available from: Amazon

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this author.

What I liked most was the “voice” of Letty Whittaker. The book is written in first-person, so the character of Letty really shines through. There are two things I really like about this character. First is her very human nature. She’s a therapist who is also an alcoholic (hence, the 12-step mystery). She struggles with sobriety like any recovering alcoholic. Any bump makes her salivate for alcohol – and there are plenty of bumps in this story. Second, she has a very wry sense of humor, which is very apparent as the story is told from Letty’s personal point of view.

Letty’s take on her co-workers is also a lot of fun. Dealing with office politics and personalities is something I haven’t experienced for many years, but it all comes back in the vivid characterizations Letty paints of her work and work place.

The story takes off quickly, with the abusive boyfriend of one of Letty’s patients arriving at the office and threatening Letty with a knife. From there, a creepy series of stalking events take place. I felt Letty’s discomfort and feeling of helplessness with both the stalking and harassment, as well as her panic that her co-workers might discover that she’s attending AA meetings. I did start to wonder how this was all going to unfold, as I was almost 50% of the way through the book. I mean – how interesting can it be to have a creepy stalker for an entire book?

Then, the stalker ends up getting killed and the interest levels perks up. Was the stalker actually behind ALL the events Letty experienced? Was she really safe now he’s gone? Maybe not, because her ex-boyfriend ends up dead next.

By the time the boyfriend got killed, I was 99% sure I knew who the killer was, and I was right. That didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story all the way to the finish.

At $2.99, this book is priced just right. It’s a good read, well written and the characters are really well done. I am looking forward to more 12-step mysteries experienced by Letty and am interested in seeing how the author further develops the great setting and characters she’s building on in this first of the 12-step mystery series.