What’s a twenty-two-year-old Irish American cop who’s never been out of Massachusetts before doing at Beardsley Hall, an English country house, having lunch with King Haakon of Norway? Billy Boyle himself wonders. Back home in Southie, he’d barely made detective when war was declared. Unwilling to fight—and perhaps die—for England, he was relieved when his mother wangled a job for him on the … staff of a general married to her distant cousin. But the general turns out to be Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose headquarters are in London, which is undergoing the Blitz. And Uncle Ike wants Billy to be his personal investigator.
Billy is dispatched to the seat of the Norwegian government in exile. Operation Jupiter, the impending invasion of Norway, is being planned, but it is feared that there is a German spy amongst the Norwegians.
Billy doubts his own abilities, with good reason. A theft and two murders test his investigative powers, but Billy proves to be a better detective than he or anyone else expected.
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This book has got it all — an instant classic.
Summer of 1942 finds Billy Boyle traveling to England to begin working for his distant uncle, Dwight Eisenhower, as a investigator during World War II. Billy had just become a detective for the Boston PD before the war hit American shores, and Billy isn’t sure he is up to the task. However, he has to jump in immediate when he is asked to help find a spy that might impede Operation Jupiter, the plans to invade Norway and drive out the Germans. His investigation is only hampered when a Norwegian official dies under mysterious circumstances. Is Billy now looking for a killer and a spy?
I’ve heard about this series several times over the years, but it was a friend recommending it to me recently that pushed me to finally start the series. I’m glad I did. I’ve always loved World War II, and I already learned something I didn’t know about it thanks to this book. The author has obviously done his research; unfortunately, sometimes that slows down the story. I’m torn on that because I did love the characters, and I loved seeing how everything from this time was impacting them. Most of the characters are fictional, but they feel like they could be real. Billy was especially wonderful, and I hope we see more of several of the characters as the series progresses. While not a cozy, the book does keep the language and violence to a minimum, which I appreciated. I also loved Billy’s restraint with the women he met – I found that very refreshing. The tone mixes some humor with more serious themes for a richer book. Now that I’ve met Billy, I have a long way to go to catch up, and I’m looking forward to the journey.
Great WWII detective story. Did not see the ending coming. Looking forward to next Billy Boyle adventure
I was shocked when this book ended. I thought it would continue through years of action! This fine author delighted both me and my ex-Navy husband. I hope there are more books featuring Billy Boyle. It made our hearts thud, we were so into being on the scene with Billy. from Sandra
Started off well – quite witty. But petered off into the mundane, so I abandoned about half way through. The ‘Southie’ in England theme got very thin after a while.
Once you read book one in the Billy Boyle World War II mystery series you will be hooked. Book sixteen, Road of Bones, is out on 9/7!
Billy Boyle is a reluctant soldier and an insecure police detective. Shortly after earning his detective badge—largely due to the influence of his father and uncle, both Boston police detectives themselves—Boyle finds himself in the Army, a “butter bar” second lieutenant assigned to the staff of General Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower, who also happens to be Boyle’s uncle through marriage. Ike wants to use Boyle as his personal special investigator, unaware that the young officer never investigated a crime on his own before entering the Army.
In this WWII mystery, the first in author James R. Benn’s Billy Boyle series, Billy is thrust into an investigation to identify a spy in the Norwegian government-in-exile. Joined by a frail Polish officer and a beautiful British WREN, Billy’s espionage case soon becomes a murder probe when a senior Norwegian official turns up dead. Crippled by insecurity and hampered by a hardheaded American major, Billy’s investigation at first founders.
Slowly, Billy’s skills as a detective begin to surface. As they do, his own indifference to the war wanes and he realizes there is more to the war than his own desire to survive it. The courage and resilience of the British people in the wake of the Blitz, the great losses suffered by those people whose countries have been overrun by Nazi forces, and the affection that grows between him and those he’s befriended, force Billy to re-evaluate his own role in the war.
Billy Boyle mixes the best of noir mystery and war novel. Benn’s writing is sharp and compelling, and his grasp of the era, environment, and materiel of the war is accurate. In particular, his description of a sea battle between British and German torpedo boats was amazingly realistic and left this veteran of military small boat operations extremely impressed. I’m looking forward to reading more of Billy Boyle’s adventures.
This series is exceptionally well written. I tend to get mine from the library, but either way, they’re definitely worth it. A nice, historical look at WWII without being too maudlin. Of course, I suspect that that Boyle dude wasn’t actually at all those key events.
Billy Boyle has it all, great characters, tension, historical context, and some romance.
James R. Benn keeps it interesting the whole way. And it’s a nice long series, you’ll be able to come back to it for a long time. I seem to read about one every couple of months so far.
An excellent primies. WWII 2lt running about solving mysteries for the army. Wonderful adaptation for historical facts and events. Includes a comment at the end explaining the real events used.
It is a great beginning to an interesting series. Historically accurate, filled with mystery set against World War II. It has a unique premise and follows through with an interesting protagonist, his friends, and World War II through his eyes.
I enjoyed this book about WWll! It was entertaining, knowledgeable about an area of history about which I did not know much. I would recommend it highly!
Great series
A good solid mystery set in WWII. The characters are not the usual ones found in many books set in WWII. It is a good read that mystery fans should find enjoyable.
Did not enjoy this book
While this book does have several good subplots, I found the story to be somewhat fragmented, as it worked it’s way, to a conclusion.
Great start to a wonderful action series for mystery and history fans. Well written likeable characters.
Skilled and engaging writing, proper amount of background and details of World War II US and UK. Characters were sufficiently developed to keep my interest. Investigatory procedures and mystery a bit transparent, but it worked as the action became integral. Good reflections on the issue of wartime guilt and the effects of trauma.
Very entertaining. Can’t put it down.
Fun “historical “novel read trying to buy more in the series … kindle not helping!
Didn’t want it to end.