A Stranger in My Street

I quite enjoyed A Stranger in My Street by Deborah Burrows, a first-time Perth novelist. The story is set during World War II in Perth and the American and Australian soldiers figure prominently.  Meg Eaton's boyfriend Peter was killed in action in Europe and then in early 1943, coincidentally his brother Tom, an Army captain, is looking for Meg's neighbour Doreen.  Meg had never met Tom before.  When Tom comes later to find  Doreen, Tom and Meg find her body in an air raid shelter in her yard.  Tom and Meg begin a friendship which is complicated by the murder investigation and by Tom's engagement to a society beauty.  Meg is encouraged to go out more and not continue to dwell on her boyfriend's death so she meets some Americans at dances and enjoys going out with them.  Matters come to a head when the murder is finally solved and Meg learns the truth about Tom.  Good story with a "predictable" ending. 4/5