July 21, 2014
Benn offers a thrilling mix of fact and fiction in his ninth whodunit featuring Boston cop-turned-army investigator Billy Boyle (after 2013’s A Blind Goddess). On the eve of D-Day, Boyle, who serves on Eisenhower’s staff, travels to Kingsbridge, England, and looks into the death of an unknown man whose corpse washed ashore on a beach. Since the location was used as practice for the amphibious assault that will be launched shortly in France, the higher-ups are concerned that a link may exist between the dead man, who was shot in the head, and the secret invasion plans. A feud among local gangsters that Boyle learns about suggests a less sinister theory, but the path to the truth is appropriately complex. The affable and capable Boyle continues to grow as a character, and Benn effectively uses the impending Allied invasion of Europe as the background for the whodunit plot.
October 1, 2014
An unidentified corpse on the southwest coast of England throws a wrench into D-Day planning. Can Capt. Billy Boyle identify the victim and crack the case? April 23, 1944. Allied forces are gathered in Kingsbridge, waiting for the go-ahead to swarm the beaches of Normandy, but a body on the beach threatens to disrupt their sensitive timetable. Boston cop-turned-Army investigator Boyle (Death's Door, 2012, etc.) is called in to investigate, along with his melancholy partner, Piotr Augustus Kazimierz. The local coroner, Dr. Verniquet, confirms that the body has been in the water for more than a month and offers the opinion that the victim was a petty criminal of some sort. Billy wonders whether the dead man had darker designs, perhaps on Gen. Eisenhower, who's supervising the big maneuver and makes a cameo appearance. Billy's suspicions deepen when a sniper fires at him and Kaz, who end up pinned by their overturned jeep. Their probe gains traction when Billy decides to follow the money by determining who stood to profit most from foiling the D-Day invasion. The investigation leads the pair to some slick and colorful gangsters at a racetrack as well as the dining room of British society's upper crust, where additional murders complicate the case. Billy's ninth case moves a bit too deliberately and may have too many red herrings, but his whiz-bang first-person narrative keeps the story afloat, and its Greatest Generation plot gives it an appealing sense of nostalgia.
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September 1, 2014
Southwest England in 1944. Operation Tiger is underway, a dress rehearsal for D-Day. Nerves are understandably raw. When a corpse washes ashore, questions naturally arise: Is this simply a drowned local or a drunken sailor or could it be a German spy? In this ninth entry in Benn's series (after A Blind Goddess), plucky Billy Boyle, late of the Boston constabulary but now a member of General Eisenhower's (Uncle Ike's) Office of Special Investigations, is dispatched to investigate. The case of the dead body quickly gives way to a domestic drama played out at Ashcroft House where Billy is billeted. In residence are Sir Rupert, a former Indian civil servant, his two grown daughters and their husbands, plus a cadre of servants. Presiding over the menagerie is great-aunt Sylvia, she of the acerbic comment. When a possible heir (not only is he from below stairs but is also American-raised) arrives unexpectedly on the scene, it's not difficult to predict trouble on the stormy horizon. There are period details aplenty with cameo appearances by historical figures. A bit of cheeky fun is had when the author enlists the aid of a certain Mrs. Mallowan (aka, Agatha Christie), a local resident, during the course of the investigation. VERDICT With its very smooth mix of mystery and historical references (with a dash of Downton Abbey), just about everybody will find something of interest in this fizzy retro cocktail.--Bob Lunn, Kansas City, MO
Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 15, 2014
In the latest Billy Boyle adventure, the special investigator assigned to General Eisenhower's staff is dispatched, along with his partner, Lieutenant Kaz Kazimierz, to the Devonshire coast, where preparations for D-Day are in full swing. An unidentified corpse has washed ashore on the beach, prompting concern that the Germans may have learned about Operation Tiger, the upcoming dress rehearsal for the Normandy invasion. Soon a larger tragedy involving far more than one dead body further imperils the operation. In addition to the case at hand, Billy and Kaz find themselves ensnared in a classic village mystery involving the troubled family who own the country house where the two soldiers are billeted. And who better to help Billy sort it all out than the lady residing in a nearby cottage, who just happens to be Agatha Christie! Benn seamlessly combines the WWII story, based, as are all of the Boyle novels, on an actual incident, with the village mystery, which is greatly enlivened by the Christie cameo. This series continues to grow, with the characters adding depth in each episode, and the ever-fascinating historical material dexterously tucked into the plot.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)