by James R. Benn is a historical fiction story about an enlisted Boston policeman in England during WWII. Billy Boyle, a young American solider, a policeman in a family of policeman finds himself embroiled in the dramatic events which overtook Europe in 1942. However, Boyle finds himself tangled up in mysteries of treason and murder.The story centers on Operation Jupiter, the allies plan to free Norway from the Nazis. Only that Operation Jupiter, a real event, was a fake plan to draw Nazi forces away from the real fronts. Of course, Lt. Boyle does not know that. He is brought into General Eisenhower’s staff because of his experience as a police officer and being Ike’s relative doesn’t hurt either. As a former Boston cop, Boyle plays a fish-out-of-water in England. He is the butt of jokes for his Americanisms, but can also give as good as he takes (“we hadn’t had tea in Boston since we threw it all in the harbor”). Soon Boyle finds himself investigating a murder, as well as an act of treason which sends him all over England and Norway. Boyle conducts his investigations in a professional manner, while stepping on toes of higher officers as well as foreign dignitaries.
During the investigation we learn what makes Boyle tick during his recollections of his conversations with his father. What makes Boyle unique among the cliché of military sleuths is that not only he is Irish (some clues which involve his family in the IRA) but Boyle also doesn’t want to be in uniform. He grew up hearing stories about his father’s experience in WWI and living under the shadow of Uncle Frank – who didn’t make it back.
From my military experience I already realized that many decisions are made between the choices of “really bad” and “really really bad”, but the honesty of which the author writes about these might seem a brooding to many readers, yet the honesty of the high cost of war should be realized by all. There are several surprises in this book; I have to confess that I did not see the ending – which is always nice. People, main characters we care about, are wounded in this story, mentally and physically, the harshness of WWII, even when not facing the enemy or spending the night in a foxhole is seen even from London.
Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery
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This one does sound like a great read. I certainly understand your pull toward WWII and espionage. Thanks for this.
I've recently been getting into historical mysteries-though most of what I've read is more medieval/renaissance than WWII. But this sounds interesting. Thanks for the review!
This is one I would seriously buy just for its cover, although I do enjoy a good WWII espionage novel now and then.
NancyO – aren't the covers fantastic?The rest of the books int eh series also have the same type of artwork on the cover.
I haven’t heard of this and it’s not my usual kind of book but it sounds really interesting so I might have to give it a try. The cover looks really good as well. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, it is a very interesting book. Look forward to an Author Q&A with James. R Benn, I did ask him about the covers.
This sounds like an awesome historical mystery! Thanks for a great review!
I love mysteries and WWII books, so this is a marriage made in heaven for me. Thanks for the great review.
Same here, I’m a sucker for this stuff.