It's Not What It Looks Like: Xenocide Mission

I'm hoping to get most of my A-Z Challenge books just by normal reading, but sometimes I make a bit of an effort.  For example, I don't actually read that many books that start with the letter "X" so on a trip to the library I typed in a few words to see what I found, and Ben Jeapes' The Xenocide Mission came up.

Ironically, I could actually use this for the author as well, since I'm missing "J" there as well, but I figure it's easy to browse the library by author; harder by title.  This book seems to be the middle of a series, but I just took it as having a rich backstory, with humanity partnering with an alien species on a new planet.  Only we get to watch them as they spy on a third species, one seen destroying the civilization on another planet in their system.  Soon a war springs up, and humanity assumes the worst, but Our Heroes soon discover that the story is much more complicated.  The various aliens are shallow but consistent, with the emotional tone staying light and on the juvenile level, but in a straightforward way.  It was a fun easy read on a pretty summer day, especially one where I spent a while waiting in a coffee shop.