Enemy in the Garden

Nora Miller's perfect suburban world is shattered one May day when her husband disappears from a rally in the park. Set in the 1970s when conflicting ideologies tear at the fabric of society, "Enemy in the Garden" reveals the anti-Semitic strain that lies just below the surface of American life. In her quest to find her husband, Nora faces official indifference and the betrayal of friends, all while coping with her traumatized teenage daughter and son. Alone, she depends heavily on the private detective hired to track her husband. What she and he ultimately discover shocks and dismays readers. The novel's theme of anti-government forces twinned with anti-Semitism strikes a timely chord with today's audiences. The Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala. catalogued more than 1,000 incidents of violence, threats or vandalism against minority groups, including Jews, in the weeks after the November election, thought to be motivated by divisions stirred during the presidential campaign. Of 1,244 crimes motivated by religious bias in 2015, 53% were directed at Jews. Hate crimes against them rose 9% over the previous year. In what may be as prophetic as "1984," "Enemy in the Garden" shows how all this hatred can destroy an ordinary community.