Billy Boyle’s illustrious debut as his Uncle “Ike” Eisenhower’s personal wartime investigator set the stage for twenty years of the critically acclaimed WWII mystery series. This special edition includes a lost prologue, an introduction by the author, and a foreword by Deanna Raybourn.
What’s a twenty-two-year-old Irish American cop who’s never left Massachusetts doing in the English countryside, eating lunch with King Haakon of Norway? Billy Boyle himself wonders. Back home in Southie, he’d barely made detective when war was declared. Determined to avoid fighting—and possibly dying—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 it turns out the general in question is none other than Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose headquarters are in London, the epicenter of the Blitz. And Uncle Ike wants Billy to be his personal investigator.
Which is how Billy finds himself lunching with King Haakon in England, where the Norwegians are discussing Operation Jupiter, an Allied offensive in Norway—but is there a German spy amongst them? A theft and two murders put Billy’s investigative powers to the test in this spectacular opening to the now-iconic historical mystery series.
Praise for the Billy Boyle series
"This book has got it all—an instant classic." —Lee Child
"Spirited wartime storytelling." —The New York Times Book Review
"A meaty, old-fashioned, and thoroughly enjoyable tale of WWII-era murder and espionage." —The Seattle Times
"A fascinating mystery with the sensibility of a World War II movie." —Sacramento News & Review
“It is a pleasure marching off to war with the spirited Billy Boyle. He is a charmer, richly imagined and vividly rendered, and he tells a finely suspenseful yarn.” —Dan Fesperman
“The series as a whole is the best set of wartime novels since those of the legendary Nevil Shute.” —BookPage
"One of the best books I've read this year." —Mystery Scene
"The sense of place is sensational, a wonderful backdrop to this complex and intriguing story." —Mystery News
James R. Benn is the author of the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries. The debut, Billy Boyle, was named one of five top mysteries of 2006 by Book Sense and was a Dilys Award nominee. A Blind Goddess was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and The Rest Is Silence was a Barry Award nominee. Benn, a former librarian, splits his time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and Connecticut with his wife Deborah Mandel.
View titles by James R. Benn
Billy Boyle’s illustrious debut as his Uncle “Ike” Eisenhower’s personal wartime investigator set the stage for twenty years of the critically acclaimed WWII mystery series. This special edition includes a lost prologue, an introduction by the author, and a foreword by Deanna Raybourn.
What’s a twenty-two-year-old Irish American cop who’s never left Massachusetts doing in the English countryside, eating lunch with King Haakon of Norway? Billy Boyle himself wonders. Back home in Southie, he’d barely made detective when war was declared. Determined to avoid fighting—and possibly dying—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 it turns out the general in question is none other than Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose headquarters are in London, the epicenter of the Blitz. And Uncle Ike wants Billy to be his personal investigator.
Which is how Billy finds himself lunching with King Haakon in England, where the Norwegians are discussing Operation Jupiter, an Allied offensive in Norway—but is there a German spy amongst them? A theft and two murders put Billy’s investigative powers to the test in this spectacular opening to the now-iconic historical mystery series.
Praise
Praise for the Billy Boyle series
"This book has got it all—an instant classic." —Lee Child
"Spirited wartime storytelling." —The New York Times Book Review
"A meaty, old-fashioned, and thoroughly enjoyable tale of WWII-era murder and espionage." —The Seattle Times
"A fascinating mystery with the sensibility of a World War II movie." —Sacramento News & Review
“It is a pleasure marching off to war with the spirited Billy Boyle. He is a charmer, richly imagined and vividly rendered, and he tells a finely suspenseful yarn.” —Dan Fesperman
“The series as a whole is the best set of wartime novels since those of the legendary Nevil Shute.” —BookPage
"One of the best books I've read this year." —Mystery Scene
"The sense of place is sensational, a wonderful backdrop to this complex and intriguing story." —Mystery News
Author
James R. Benn is the author of the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries. The debut, Billy Boyle, was named one of five top mysteries of 2006 by Book Sense and was a Dilys Award nominee. A Blind Goddess was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and The Rest Is Silence was a Barry Award nominee. Benn, a former librarian, splits his time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and Connecticut with his wife Deborah Mandel.
View titles by James R. Benn
