Enemy in the House is a murder mystery novel by Mignon G. Eberhart published by Random House in 1962. It was reprinted in 1976 by I. Henry ().
Plot The action takes place in South Carolina and Jamaica during the time of the American Revolution. Amity Mallam, the daughter of a plantation-owning family, enters a secret marriage in order to protect her inheritance. Her journey is set in motion when two of the ceremony's attendees, the priest and a lawyer, are murdered.Adamson, Lynda G. American Historical Fiction: An Annotated Guide to Novels for Adults and Young Adults. Oryx Press, 1999, p. 19. Accessed 17 June 2018. Once in Jamaica, Amity, along with her father and her brother, are aided by a beautiful Obeah slave woman named Selene.Cypert, Rick & James G. McManaway. America's Agatha Christie: Mignon Good Eberhart, Her Life and Works. Selinsgrove: Susquehanna University Press, 2005, p. 65. Accessed 17 June 2018.
Background Eberhart is thought to have used her experience traveling through Jamaica in the 1940s to develop this novel. This same trip was used by the author to flesh out the atmosphere of Speak No Evil.Cypert & McManaway, p. 65.
Reception The novel receive positive reviews from sources like the Bangor Daily News, for which Marion F. French wrote "No one can touch Eberhart for color and persuasiveness in this genre."French, Marion F. "Maine Bookmarks." Bangor Daily News Vol. 74, No. 84, page 8. 22–23 September 1962. Accessed 15 April 2023. Athenley Jones gave it a less favorable review, stating that "the story does not quite come off."Jones, Athenley. "Baker Street Regulars: Belated Frame and Felony." Pittsburgh Press Vol. 79 No. 91 page 8 section 5. 23 September 1962. Accessed 15 April 2023.
In his essay on queer coding in Eberhart's novels, Rick Cypert points to the character of Neville as a character who is typical of her depictions of subtextually-gay male characters.Cypert, Rick. "Foppish, Effeminate, or "a little too handsome": Coded Character Descriptions and Masculinity in the Mystery Novels of Mignon G. Eberhart." Murder in the Closet: Essays on Queer Clues in Crime Fiction Before Stonewall edited by Curtis Evans. McFarland & Company, 2017, p. 194. Accessed 17 June 2018. Cypert and co-author James McManaway single out the character of Selene for notability as one of only two non-white characters in Eberhart's later work who perform any sort of detective work; the only other Eberhart novel to boast such a character is El Rancho Rio (1970).Cypert & McManaway, p. 65.
References
External links Enemy in the House at Kirkus Reviews Enemy in the House at Goodreads