England, 1944: Recovering from physical and psychological wounds sustained in the liberation of Paris, US Army detective Billy Boyle and Lieutenant Kazimierz are sent to a convalescent hospital in the English countryside—only to discover that St. Albans may have its own war secrets, including a killer.“As historical detective series go, this one is extremely well tended by an author who clearly … author who clearly dotes on his hero. As do we.”—The New York Times
Just days after the Liberation of Paris, US Army Detective Billy Boyle and Lieutenant Kazimierz are brought to Saint Albans Convalescent Hospital in the English countryside. Kaz has been diagnosed with a heart condition, and Billy is dealing with emotional exhaustion and his recent methamphetamine abuse. Meanwhile, Billy’s love, Diana Seaton, has been taken to Ravensbrück, the Nazi concentration camp for women, and Kaz’s sister, Angelika, who he recently learned was alive and working with the Polish Underground, has also been captured and transported to the same camp.
This news is brought by British Major Cosgrove, who asks Billy for help, unofficially, in solving what he thinks was the murder of a British agent recuperating at Saint Albans. The convalescent hospital is really a secret installation for those in the world of clandestine warfare to recover from wounds, physical and emotional. Some are allowed to leave; others are deemed security risks and are detained there. When a second body is found, it is evident that a killer is at work in this high-security enclave. Now Billy must carry out his covert investigation while maintaining his tenuous recovery, shielding his actions from suspicious hospital authorities, and dodging the unknown murderer.
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This book keeps you reading and guessing from page one. This book has lots of twists and turns.
I enjoyed it.
Interesting & somewhat unusual WWII Europe intelligence story.
What starts in a sanatorium leads to a high-stakes, dangerous race to find a killer and avert a crisis in the fight against Hitler… Chilling echoes of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Prisoner reverberate in every twist and turn of Billy Boyle’s life-or-death mission to unmask a plot in the thick of WWII.
The war has finally caught up with Captain Billy Boyle. Nephew to Allied Supreme Commander General Dwight Eisenhower as well as the general’s personal special investigator, Boyle has been sent to a British hospital to recover from his latest mission. The former Boston PD detective’s injuries aren’t physical but emotional, and the hospital he’s been confined to is no ordinary military hospital. Saint Albans Convalescent Hospital, located in the English countryside, is reserved for those clandestine warriors who know too many secrets to be allowed to recover in normal hospitals.
Boyle deals with his demons by taking long walks around the hospital grounds. During one such walk, he witnesses a fellow patient fall to his death from a clock tower, an apparent suicide. Or was it? When a second Saint Albans patient is found dead, it becomes apparent that one of the patients or staff is a killer. Boyle, a former homicide detective, is brought in to assist in finding the murderer.
Complicating Boyle’s probe is the fact his best friend, Polish Lieutenant Kazimierz, aka Kaz, is also hospitalized in Saint Albans with a heart condition that could end his military career and, perhaps, his life. At the same time, Boyle finds out his lover, British agent Diana Seaton, has been captured and taken to a Nazi concentration camp while Kaz’s long thought dead sister, Angelika, is alive and imprisoned in the same camp. Secret diplomatic negotiations between Allied and Nazi officials to release the women could be disrupted by the murders at Saint Albans.
I’ve always been impressed with Benn’s historical research for his novels and his research into wartime military medicine for The Red Horse only strengthens that. I spent sixteen years as a U.S. Navy analyst in combat casualty care during the height of the Iraq/Afghan wars and have studied and written quite a bit about the history of military medicine. The knowledge of such care displayed in this novel shows Benn is a good a researcher as he is a writer. An excellent read.
I enjoy the series and the historical CV context. Have followed Billy throughout WWII and appreciate the personal perspective on historical events.
Disoriented and weak, Billy Boyle finds himself and Kaz recuperating in a special sanctuary outside of London after the horrific events in Paris. In his daze, he believes he witnesses a murder which authorities label a suicide. After a successful “rest cure” he is able to turn his detective skills to solving not one, but three murders.
Kaz has suffered a heart attack and may be sidelined from military service for the foreseeable future. Diana and Kaz’s sister are being held in a German camp. Things are looking grim.
This is the one of the most fascinating WWII series ever. Did you know that during this era, physicians did not operate on the heart and scoffed at any who thought it possible? I did know that secret agents and those who knew classified information were treated in secret secured facilities like this. Were they patients or prisoners?
Benn never disappoints and always surprises, finding new ways to involve Billy and his team in mysteries that are layered and true to solid story telling. When I finally discover what is actually happening, I never feel cheated. Meaning, the clues were there but I’m not as sharp as Billy! I wonder where Billy will head to now?