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Billy Boyle World War II #11
Blue Madonna
Billy Boyle, US Army detective and ex-Boston cop, faces his toughest investigation yet: infiltrating enemy lines in France as the Allies invade Normandy.It's late May 1944. Captain Billy Boyle is court-martialed on spurious charges of black market dealings. The chief witness against him is Archie Chapman, the London gangster last seen in Rag and Bone, and Boyle is convicted. Stripped of his officer's rank, reduced to private, and sentenced to three month's hard labor, Boyle is given an opportunity: he can avoid his punishment if he accepts a dangerous mission.
In the town of Chaumont, a "petite chateau" on the outskirts of town serves as a safe house for the Allies. The chateau has a secret chamber and tunnel, first used to hide escaping Huguenots in the 17th century. But someone is killing the people who have passed through the safe house. Two officers, one a British escaped POW and the other an American pilot, have been murdered.
Billy is parachuted in as part of a three-man team on June 5, 1944, the night before the Normandy invasion. Billy must solve the mystery of who is behind the murders, then lead a group escape from France back to England, with both the Germans and a killer hot on their heels.
316 pages, Hardcover
First published September 13, 2016
87 people are currently reading
485 people want to read
About the author
James R. Benn
34 books404 followersJames R. Benn is the author of Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery, selected by Book Sense as one of the top five mysteries of 2006 and nominated for a Dilys Award. The First Wave was a Book Sense Notable title.
Benn is a librarian and lives in Hadlyme, Connecticut.
Benn is a librarian and lives in Hadlyme, Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
November 20, 2021
3.5* I like how this book started, with Billy being brought to court martial with him not knowing why. Then he is sent to France on D-day to find a group of airmen hiding at a chateau. That's also where Diana, Billy’s girlfriend is working with the French Resistance. However, I did not find the plot as compelling for the latter half of the book. There's still wonderful writing and I can still vividly feel the dangers of being in a war zone. But it's not as good, in my humble opinion, as the other books in the series that I've previously read.
October 5, 2016
First Sentence: It was a nice day for a drive.
Captain Billy Boyle is court-marshaled, busted down to Private, and sentenced to three months hard labor. But it’s all a ruse in order to get Billy behind enemy lines to rescue an Allied soldier currently at a not-so-very “safe house” in France. Not only do they have to worry about the Germans, but someone is killing the soldiers housed there.
What an effective way to start a story. Even though you suspect it’s a setup, you don’t know where the story is going, but you definitely want to find out.
Sudden bursts of action keep things exciting, but they are nicely offset by things such things as learning more about the background of Kaz, a wealthy man, who had gone to England to study, whose Polish family had been wiped out by the Nazis, now working with the American Army and living at the Dorchester Hotel in London.
Benn does an excellent job conveying the danger of situation, and the risky and important role women played during the war. These weren’t clerks in safe offices, but resistance fighters working to defeat the Germans. Add in a murder into the midst, and Billy’s history as a Boston cop comes into play with time to investigate as we witness the inhumanity of the SS.
Pacing is one of Benn’s many strengths, along with plotting. You are drawn into the story and kept there, needing to know what happens next. The balance between the hunt for a killer within their midst, while surviving the danger from the war provides a constant tension with highs and lows.
The characters are so very real and interesting. Benn’s voice, through Billy, is so well done—“As I stepped over the threshold, I had a momentary felling of terror as I recalled a story that had scard the hell out of me as a kid. “The Cask of Amontillado,” about a guy who was tricked into entering a basement niche and walled up inside. Thanks a lot, Edgar Allen Poe.” The Count is a wonderful character brought into this book. He is very much a representative of that which is good about nobility; a guardian of centuries of history for his family, which region, and his country, but he is also a father.
“The Blue Madonna” has an excellent triple climax. The book is suspenseful, dramatic, and a bit terrible. There are well-done plot twists, and the reader is left with a definite need for the next book.
BLUE MADONNA (Hist Mys-Billy Boyle-France-WWII/1944) - Ex
Benn, James R. – 11th in series
Soho Crime – Sept 2016
Captain Billy Boyle is court-marshaled, busted down to Private, and sentenced to three months hard labor. But it’s all a ruse in order to get Billy behind enemy lines to rescue an Allied soldier currently at a not-so-very “safe house” in France. Not only do they have to worry about the Germans, but someone is killing the soldiers housed there.
What an effective way to start a story. Even though you suspect it’s a setup, you don’t know where the story is going, but you definitely want to find out.
Sudden bursts of action keep things exciting, but they are nicely offset by things such things as learning more about the background of Kaz, a wealthy man, who had gone to England to study, whose Polish family had been wiped out by the Nazis, now working with the American Army and living at the Dorchester Hotel in London.
Benn does an excellent job conveying the danger of situation, and the risky and important role women played during the war. These weren’t clerks in safe offices, but resistance fighters working to defeat the Germans. Add in a murder into the midst, and Billy’s history as a Boston cop comes into play with time to investigate as we witness the inhumanity of the SS.
Pacing is one of Benn’s many strengths, along with plotting. You are drawn into the story and kept there, needing to know what happens next. The balance between the hunt for a killer within their midst, while surviving the danger from the war provides a constant tension with highs and lows.
The characters are so very real and interesting. Benn’s voice, through Billy, is so well done—“As I stepped over the threshold, I had a momentary felling of terror as I recalled a story that had scard the hell out of me as a kid. “The Cask of Amontillado,” about a guy who was tricked into entering a basement niche and walled up inside. Thanks a lot, Edgar Allen Poe.” The Count is a wonderful character brought into this book. He is very much a representative of that which is good about nobility; a guardian of centuries of history for his family, which region, and his country, but he is also a father.
“The Blue Madonna” has an excellent triple climax. The book is suspenseful, dramatic, and a bit terrible. There are well-done plot twists, and the reader is left with a definite need for the next book.
BLUE MADONNA (Hist Mys-Billy Boyle-France-WWII/1944) - Ex
Benn, James R. – 11th in series
Soho Crime – Sept 2016
September 2, 2023
As BLUE MADONNA, author James R. Benn's 11th Billy Boyle World War II mystery series, opens readers are instantly confronted with the titular hero being arrested, tried and found guilty on charges of embezzling goods from the U.S. Army. He's sentenced to hard labor and about to be shipped off to serve his sentence.
But how could this be? There's no way Billy would do what he's been accused of, right? Well...you are right. It no spoiler to say that it's all been a set up. But even Billy wasn't in on the set up until he figured it out during the trial. Soon after he learns the reason for his conviction and loss of rank.
Ahead of D-Day, the U.S. Army is having a giant problem with looting and pilfering of the supplies that are being shipped over. It's not a missing can of peaches, either. Massive quantities of food, supplies and equipment have been disappearing. And the Army knows that a vicious and well connected British gang is behind it. But in order to secure testimony to help stop the gang, Billy is being sent on a mission.
He and his partner Kaz are being sent to France to bring back a downed bomber crew member stuck behind enemy lines. It's his testimony that the Army wants. But France isn't exactly an easy place to get to these days. It's made pretty clear that D-Day is a matter of a few days away. But even before that, Billy, Kaz and a radio operator tasked with joining them (who has previous ties to Billy) have to get into France and manage to avoid not only being discovered by the Germans, but by the French collaborators as well.
And it that wasn't enough to complicate their mission, once on site where the soldier has been hiding out with a few other downed airmen, Billy and Kaz soon have another problem on their hands. Two problems actually. The bodies of two of the airmen turn up, quite clearly murdered. Billy wants to investigate because it's a small pool of suspects and you don't know what the murderer has in mind for the rest of those hiding out.
But before he can do any of that, there's a mission to accomplish. And that will draw Billy into any number of situations helping the French resistance in their fight against the Nazis and their traitorous countrymen. It's all in service to getting back to England in one piece with the man they came to France to retrieve. But Billy needs to do so without being discovered or becoming the murderer's next victim.
I'm a big fan of this series because James R. Benn does a magnificent job of telling each new story in a way that allows for the fictional story and the actual historical events said story is set against to mix in a way that makes both sides of the narrative come to life in quite the exciting way.
And BLUE MADONNA is no exception. With Billy having to barely acknowledge his girlfriend Diana (who is undercover in France when they meet up), delay justice for two murders and figure out how to successfully complete the mission he was originally tasked with, there's an awful lot going on with this book's story. But set against life in World War II-era France, you never quite know what's coming with the next turn of the page.
And there's scene in this book will set your teeth on edge for sure. No matter how many times one has seen it depicted in TV shows or movies or read about it happening in history books, the way Benn writes about a massacre in this book will make your blood boil and wish you'd been able to do something, anything to stop it and make the perpetrators pay. Which will subsequently make you understand what Billy sees and is unable to do anything about. I was weirded out by how much of a visceral reaction I had to that scene despite the fact it was inside of a fictional story. It left me wondering just how much of an effect it will leave on Billy as time goes on. Which I suppose is a testament to just how well it was written, that you'd care about the effect on a fictional character. Moreso, the end result of said massacre left another character that Benn makes you wonder what will happen to them in the end as well.
Speaking of characters, BLUE MADONNA has a wealth of them. Billy, Kaz and Diana of course play the biggest roles in the story. But the various characters that pop up throughout the book are an interesting mix. The French count whose home serves as a setting for a large part of the book, elderly but not without a wealth of stone-cold resolve, the two French women who work with the trio are incredible, profiles in courage in a time when far too many took the easy way. The count's household staff show up as stand-up characters too.
I'm not really keeping a running list of which books in this series is are my favorites, but if I was, I'm pretty sure that BLUE MADONNA would be in the running. It is just a deeply involving mystery-slash-action-adventure story set against the start of D-Day that will once again renew the belief that James R. Benn's Billy Boyle World War II mystery series is one that you can't afford to miss out on as a lover of mysteries!
But how could this be? There's no way Billy would do what he's been accused of, right? Well...you are right. It no spoiler to say that it's all been a set up. But even Billy wasn't in on the set up until he figured it out during the trial. Soon after he learns the reason for his conviction and loss of rank.
Ahead of D-Day, the U.S. Army is having a giant problem with looting and pilfering of the supplies that are being shipped over. It's not a missing can of peaches, either. Massive quantities of food, supplies and equipment have been disappearing. And the Army knows that a vicious and well connected British gang is behind it. But in order to secure testimony to help stop the gang, Billy is being sent on a mission.
He and his partner Kaz are being sent to France to bring back a downed bomber crew member stuck behind enemy lines. It's his testimony that the Army wants. But France isn't exactly an easy place to get to these days. It's made pretty clear that D-Day is a matter of a few days away. But even before that, Billy, Kaz and a radio operator tasked with joining them (who has previous ties to Billy) have to get into France and manage to avoid not only being discovered by the Germans, but by the French collaborators as well.
And it that wasn't enough to complicate their mission, once on site where the soldier has been hiding out with a few other downed airmen, Billy and Kaz soon have another problem on their hands. Two problems actually. The bodies of two of the airmen turn up, quite clearly murdered. Billy wants to investigate because it's a small pool of suspects and you don't know what the murderer has in mind for the rest of those hiding out.
But before he can do any of that, there's a mission to accomplish. And that will draw Billy into any number of situations helping the French resistance in their fight against the Nazis and their traitorous countrymen. It's all in service to getting back to England in one piece with the man they came to France to retrieve. But Billy needs to do so without being discovered or becoming the murderer's next victim.
I'm a big fan of this series because James R. Benn does a magnificent job of telling each new story in a way that allows for the fictional story and the actual historical events said story is set against to mix in a way that makes both sides of the narrative come to life in quite the exciting way.
And BLUE MADONNA is no exception. With Billy having to barely acknowledge his girlfriend Diana (who is undercover in France when they meet up), delay justice for two murders and figure out how to successfully complete the mission he was originally tasked with, there's an awful lot going on with this book's story. But set against life in World War II-era France, you never quite know what's coming with the next turn of the page.
And there's scene in this book will set your teeth on edge for sure. No matter how many times one has seen it depicted in TV shows or movies or read about it happening in history books, the way Benn writes about a massacre in this book will make your blood boil and wish you'd been able to do something, anything to stop it and make the perpetrators pay. Which will subsequently make you understand what Billy sees and is unable to do anything about. I was weirded out by how much of a visceral reaction I had to that scene despite the fact it was inside of a fictional story. It left me wondering just how much of an effect it will leave on Billy as time goes on. Which I suppose is a testament to just how well it was written, that you'd care about the effect on a fictional character. Moreso, the end result of said massacre left another character that Benn makes you wonder what will happen to them in the end as well.
Speaking of characters, BLUE MADONNA has a wealth of them. Billy, Kaz and Diana of course play the biggest roles in the story. But the various characters that pop up throughout the book are an interesting mix. The French count whose home serves as a setting for a large part of the book, elderly but not without a wealth of stone-cold resolve, the two French women who work with the trio are incredible, profiles in courage in a time when far too many took the easy way. The count's household staff show up as stand-up characters too.
I'm not really keeping a running list of which books in this series is are my favorites, but if I was, I'm pretty sure that BLUE MADONNA would be in the running. It is just a deeply involving mystery-slash-action-adventure story set against the start of D-Day that will once again renew the belief that James R. Benn's Billy Boyle World War II mystery series is one that you can't afford to miss out on as a lover of mysteries!
November 23, 2016
This is my first "Billy Boyle World War II Mystery". I am impressed. The characters are engaging, unusual, and unpredictable. Yes, the Jedburghs, maquis, other French underground elements, pro-Nazi French milcia, Abwehr and SS are involved, but there are other wild cards as well. Get ready for a roller-coaster ride of clandestine activity and mischief. This is not so formulaic and dry as some of Alistair MacLean's work, and is perhaps a bit closer to vintage Jack Higgins in style and pacing. I highly recommend this title to those folks who enjoy unusual WWII espionage/suspense with a few nice twists along the way.
October 30, 2016
Robust and Memerizing
Benn continues to deliver taut, authentic, and poignant WWII tales in this new entry of the Billy Boyle series. Each book gives the reader new perspectives on not just the war action in numerous locales, but the back stories of murder, theft, espionage and more. Very few authors can deliver the full impact, as can the inestimable James Benn. Highly recommended!
Benn continues to deliver taut, authentic, and poignant WWII tales in this new entry of the Billy Boyle series. Each book gives the reader new perspectives on not just the war action in numerous locales, but the back stories of murder, theft, espionage and more. Very few authors can deliver the full impact, as can the inestimable James Benn. Highly recommended!
September 15, 2016
James Benn will keep you riveted to reading Billy Boyle WWII mysteries. I have found only a handful of writers who can do this. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to the in next book.
James Benn will keep you riveted to Billy Boyle WWII mysteries. I have found only a handful of writers who can do this. Keep up the good work, James! Looking forward to the next in the series.
James Benn will keep you riveted to Billy Boyle WWII mysteries. I have found only a handful of writers who can do this. Keep up the good work, James! Looking forward to the next in the series.
August 20, 2017
Captain Billy Boyd is arrested, convicted, and stripped of his rank for being involved in the black market. It is part of a plan to break up a real black market operation. Billy and Kaz are sent to France as the D-Day invasion unfolds to rescue a witness and run into murder, genocide, and traitors in the vicinity of a French estate. A good read of a military thriller.
June 26, 2016
An excellent series, and each individual novel gives the reader a look at some different aspect or place in WWII. Billy continues to develop as a character, and we see the various shades of grey that life in a war zone entails. In this instance, Billy is "busted" back to private and sent behind enemy lines an a rescue mission as the D-Day invasion is imminent. There he encounters an aged French aristocrat who is sheltering downed Allied airmen and assisting the French Resistance, while appearing to befriend the local German general. Murder, the appropriation of art, the politics of the underground movement, plus an encounter with Billy's love, Diana, operating undercover at the same chateau all kept me reading into the night. I'm grateful to Edelweiss and the publisher for the digital ARC.
October 18, 2016
4.5
Excellent entry in this consistently excellent series.
Benn weaves wonderful historical detail into all these books but the core is the "cases" assigned to (now Captain) Billy Boyle, ex-Boston PD and "nephew" of General Eisenhower.
This case takes Billy and sidekick Kaz to Occupied France during the D-Day invasion. Between investigating black market criminals and assisting the French resistance, several murders in an old Chateau intervene.
Well-plotted and well told. Enjoy.
Excellent entry in this consistently excellent series.
Benn weaves wonderful historical detail into all these books but the core is the "cases" assigned to (now Captain) Billy Boyle, ex-Boston PD and "nephew" of General Eisenhower.
This case takes Billy and sidekick Kaz to Occupied France during the D-Day invasion. Between investigating black market criminals and assisting the French resistance, several murders in an old Chateau intervene.
Well-plotted and well told. Enjoy.
Read
December 14, 2016Former librarian and WWII expert James R. Benn comes up big with this vastly entertaining series about murder, greed and the appalling human cost of war and it's consequences. I love the various characters that enliven this well researched and detailed account of the devastating conflict that involved most of our ancestors from "The Greatest Generation".
Highly recommended for History buffs and lovers of war stories.
Highly recommended for History buffs and lovers of war stories.
October 14, 2016
By this time the whole Goodreads world knows that I enjoy the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries. James Benn packs a lot of excitement and action into this novel. Billy is taken to court and is no longer a captain and that is just the start of this adventure set days before D-Day. Add this one to your reading list.
November 26, 2016
Oh, my goodness, I just can't get enough of the Billy Boyle series. This latest in the series has the Normandy invasion as a backdrop to the brave rescue that Boyle and the multinational espionage/resistance group are attempting. Like all the others in the series, this has fascinating & little known historical facts regarding WW II and international politics, romance, and action aplenty.
December 7, 2016
More Please
I love the entire Billy Boyle series! I only wish there were more. Trying to find historical fiction of this caliber is difficult....WANT More. There are so many places Ike could use these guys!!
I love the entire Billy Boyle series! I only wish there were more. Trying to find historical fiction of this caliber is difficult....WANT More. There are so many places Ike could use these guys!!
December 8, 2016
I really enjoy this series. This one was perhaps the most suspenseful yet. I can't wait to find out what Billy and Kaz do next.
January 13, 2020
First sentence: It was a nice day for a drive.
Premise/plot: Blue Madonna is the eleventh historical mystery starring Billy Boyle. This one is set May/June 1944 in England and France. It begins with a shocking twist: a court martial for Billy Boyle. But after an unusual start it soon settles into a more predictable Billy Boyle mystery. Wherever he goes, he finds murders to solve and clues to follow. Even in Nazi occupied France.
My thoughts: I love, love, love the series as a whole. These characters live for me. I am thoroughly attached to Billy Boyle, Kaz, Big Mike, Diana, etc. I love following the stories from book to book as to how these relationships and stories develop and evolve. But. Sometimes individual titles are just okay and not super amazing or oh so compelling. Blue Madonna is not my favorite in the series.
Premise/plot: Blue Madonna is the eleventh historical mystery starring Billy Boyle. This one is set May/June 1944 in England and France. It begins with a shocking twist: a court martial for Billy Boyle. But after an unusual start it soon settles into a more predictable Billy Boyle mystery. Wherever he goes, he finds murders to solve and clues to follow. Even in Nazi occupied France.
My thoughts: I love, love, love the series as a whole. These characters live for me. I am thoroughly attached to Billy Boyle, Kaz, Big Mike, Diana, etc. I love following the stories from book to book as to how these relationships and stories develop and evolve. But. Sometimes individual titles are just okay and not super amazing or oh so compelling. Blue Madonna is not my favorite in the series.
January 10, 2021
In this outing, Billy Boyle is flown into France, behind the lines, during the Normandy invasion. He's on a mission to retrieve a downed airman who is key to resolving the widespread, organized theft of military supplies back in the UK. But once he's ensconced in a chateaux in his undercover role, one of the airman hiding out there is murdered. Billy is forced to shift from rescuer to investigator.
There's a lot of action in this mystery, as the men hiding out at the chateaux work with the Resistance, and get involved in some high-risk endeavours. And it doesn't hurt that Diana is operating out of the same secret hideout on her own mission. This is a fun read, rather hard to put down.
There's a lot of action in this mystery, as the men hiding out at the chateaux work with the Resistance, and get involved in some high-risk endeavours. And it doesn't hurt that Diana is operating out of the same secret hideout on her own mission. This is a fun read, rather hard to put down.
September 23, 2020
This is the 1st James R. Benn "Billy Boyle," I've read...Boyle is a hard-bitten Boston PD detective working as an investigator in the US Army...Very representative of many of the Max Allen Collins noir-ish "historical " mysteries I'm more familiar with...Boyle is arrested & busted to private in order to infiltrate a black market operation that has been devastating the supply build up leading to the D-Day invasion...His investigation leads him into OSS operations in France...Mayhem, murder, the appropriation of art (Blue Madonna), the politics of the French Resistance, and reuniting with his love all lead to an entertaining read...Good stuff, almost up there With Collins' historical mysteries!
May 29, 2017
Captain Billy Boyle is sent on a dangerous mission to pre-invasion France during WWII. He is being sent to rescue a downed member of a flight crew who is willing to give evidence about a large black market ring in England. They have done a great deal of damage stealing vital supplies for the troops. The Germans are not giving up easily and have turned vicious in their reprisals to the local people where Resistance activity is helping to pave the way for the invasion. Billy will have a tough time surviving and accomplishing his mission. This book offers an engaging story and interesting historical facts.
March 16, 2021
I found the plot entirely implausible when templated onto the D-Day schedule. That SHAEF in the final weeks before D-Day is seriously concerned about black market thievery is ridiculous. Also the idea of inserting two operators with BIGOT access into occupied France to pickup a black market suspect who was a downed airman is far fetched. But it’s Billy Boyle and a nicely paced narrative once they are behind the lines.
July 7, 2017
Love Billy Boyle
Cracker Jack storytelling. Love Billy and his pals. Keep up the books, Mr. Benn. Best to read in order, but good if you read at random.
Cracker Jack storytelling. Love Billy and his pals. Keep up the books, Mr. Benn. Best to read in order, but good if you read at random.
June 16, 2017
This WWII Billy Boyle mystery nicely weaves the story threads together within a scale that fits. Captain Billy Boyle, a former Boston police officer and distant relative to General Eisenhower, heads up a special investigation group assigned to Eisenhower's headquarters staff. In "Blue Madonna", Billy is compelled to go under cover to make contact with a couple of jailed U. S. Army enlisted men who are known associates of a major black market gang. Subsequently, together with his colleague Kaz and an SOE commando, he is flown into occupied France on the eve of D-Day to retrieve a downed Army Air Force gunner who is a principal in the black market gang and willing to disclose information that will bring the gang to an end. Sabotage, murder, the maquis, atrocity, love, fine art, and retribution are all part of the story mix. I enjoyed the read.
Do not overlook the afterward which describes the black market leading up to D-Day in WWII England. The problem did not end with WWII.
Do not overlook the afterward which describes the black market leading up to D-Day in WWII England. The problem did not end with WWII.
June 24, 2017
Another great WW11 war mystery - a great read
March 4, 2017
It's 1944, and the latest entry in this wonderful series starts with our hero in handcuffs, for reasons neither we nor he knows. What follows is yet another fascinating view of people at war. The only problem I have now is waiting for the next one!
December 1, 2017
Throughout the previous few books, much of the crime Billy investigated was in an effort to make sure the invasion of Europe went smoothly.1944. Now with Blue Madonna, the invasion is finally upon us and the shift in gears to another action packed mystery adventure takes on new dimensions.
This one felt much more action-adventure like. As a JAG officer myself, I was thrilled the see the book open up with Billy in a court martial setting. The story later takes us to France where Billy, Kaz, and another character from a previous story makes a welcome return on a dangerous mission. This time, the crime that Billy's been tasked with is the investigation and prosecution of a dangerous smuggling outfit within the US military and a key witness happens to be a bomber crew member who is trapped in France.
Thus, the bulk of this episode takes Billy and Co. to an idyllic French countryside rich with the Resistance, Vichy Collaborators, German occupiers, and criminal U.S. service members to boot. The main murder mystery subsequently develops here coupled with a lot more espionage and action than the previous stories did. It's a welcome shift and is nice to mix up the sequence of adventure without taking away the core essence and themes behind this series. And since our heroes and heroines find themselves in the midst of D-Day, the book doesn't end on the same quiet note as previous ones. I can't wait to see the next one!
This one felt much more action-adventure like. As a JAG officer myself, I was thrilled the see the book open up with Billy in a court martial setting. The story later takes us to France where Billy, Kaz, and another character from a previous story makes a welcome return on a dangerous mission. This time, the crime that Billy's been tasked with is the investigation and prosecution of a dangerous smuggling outfit within the US military and a key witness happens to be a bomber crew member who is trapped in France.
Thus, the bulk of this episode takes Billy and Co. to an idyllic French countryside rich with the Resistance, Vichy Collaborators, German occupiers, and criminal U.S. service members to boot. The main murder mystery subsequently develops here coupled with a lot more espionage and action than the previous stories did. It's a welcome shift and is nice to mix up the sequence of adventure without taking away the core essence and themes behind this series. And since our heroes and heroines find themselves in the midst of D-Day, the book doesn't end on the same quiet note as previous ones. I can't wait to see the next one!
October 16, 2016
Billy Boyle has received all kinds of assignments in his capacity as a special investigator on Eisenhower’s staff. But few, if any, match the bizarre task before him in the Blue Madonna. To begin with, he is arrested, tried on trumped up charges and stripped of his Captaincy and sentenced to time in the stockade for black market activities. (This, of course, a subterfuge to provide a cover story as part of an investigation.) Then he is sent behind enemy lines to rescue a downed airman who is needed to testify against a black market gang.
No sooner does Billy arrive in occupied France than he finds himself investigating two murders of airmen being hidden in a chateau. And he even participates in partisan operations, blowing up railroad tracks and bridges.
The Billy Boyle series takes him through various phases of World War II. This novel takes place as Allied troops sail for Normandy on D-Day, giving the author the opportunity to describe conditions in Occupied France, how the partisans operated, and what was done to return downed airmen through clandestine networks. The Blue Madonna, a valuable piece of art, is an example of how many Jews and others attempted to prevent the Nazis from stealing their possessions by hiding them in such places as the chateau, which also secreted parachuted Allied fliers.
As were the first ten books in the series, Blue Madonna is highly recommended.
No sooner does Billy arrive in occupied France than he finds himself investigating two murders of airmen being hidden in a chateau. And he even participates in partisan operations, blowing up railroad tracks and bridges.
The Billy Boyle series takes him through various phases of World War II. This novel takes place as Allied troops sail for Normandy on D-Day, giving the author the opportunity to describe conditions in Occupied France, how the partisans operated, and what was done to return downed airmen through clandestine networks. The Blue Madonna, a valuable piece of art, is an example of how many Jews and others attempted to prevent the Nazis from stealing their possessions by hiding them in such places as the chateau, which also secreted parachuted Allied fliers.
As were the first ten books in the series, Blue Madonna is highly recommended.
July 19, 2016
Author James Benn has written 11 "Billy Boyle" novels. They've all been good, except for the last one, which was set in the South Pacific and featured a Navy J/G named Jack Kennedy, who was under investigation for possibly murdering someone. It was a bit of a stretch and I'm glad that "The Blue Madonna" is set back in the ETO.
A good novel can teach as well as entertain, and so James Benn does with his newest novel. It's the weeks before D-Day and Billy is arrested for racketeering in stolen goods for resale. The arrest and conviction is bogus and gets Billy "in" with the gangs - both British and American - who are dealing in these goods. This is a set-up to get Billy and his friends to rescue another black marketeer caught behind enemy lines in France. As this is a series book, you can be pretty sure Billy and company will make it out alive, but that's okay, because the story of his behind-the-lines job is quite well written. Benn includes plenty of history in his story, and mentions a small village in France that was destroyed by the Germans in retaliation to French underground activity. (And in case you're interested in that part, find Ethan Mordden's book "One Day in France".)
So, Billy Boyle and his associates - including a token appearance by harried "Uncle Ike" - are back. Veteran readers of the series will be pleased by his latest adventure.
A good novel can teach as well as entertain, and so James Benn does with his newest novel. It's the weeks before D-Day and Billy is arrested for racketeering in stolen goods for resale. The arrest and conviction is bogus and gets Billy "in" with the gangs - both British and American - who are dealing in these goods. This is a set-up to get Billy and his friends to rescue another black marketeer caught behind enemy lines in France. As this is a series book, you can be pretty sure Billy and company will make it out alive, but that's okay, because the story of his behind-the-lines job is quite well written. Benn includes plenty of history in his story, and mentions a small village in France that was destroyed by the Germans in retaliation to French underground activity. (And in case you're interested in that part, find Ethan Mordden's book "One Day in France".)
So, Billy Boyle and his associates - including a token appearance by harried "Uncle Ike" - are back. Veteran readers of the series will be pleased by his latest adventure.
August 25, 2016
When I first picked up this book about a secret mission, by an ex-Boston policeman turned military investigator, named Billy Boyle (who names their tough guy hero Billy?), into France during World War II, I expected another run of the mill adventure yarn loosely based on the war in Europe. After a few chapters setting up the premise and introducing the characters, I came to find a good story laced with accuracy and plenty of action and suspense. The telling is in the details. This fast paced tale of theft of military property and black marketeers highlights a problem that was rampant in England during the Allied occupation in preparation for the D-Day invasion of Europe. The problems of theft and desertion from the Allied armies eventually spilled over onto the continent. As the story evolves, it presents a good portrait of the operations in France of a small group of brave men and women who operated behind the lines as undercover agents in France risking certain death or worse if they were caught. As the Allies pushed through France and on into Germany, thousands of tons of supplies were stolen by deserters who allied themselves with black marketeers trying to make fortunes off of supplies desperately needed for the Allied fighting men. This is an interesting tale of a part of the war that is often overlooked. Book provided for review by Amazon Vine.
August 17, 2016
Accused of theft, stripped of his rank and sentenced to hard labor, Billy Boyle has been set up. As part of a plan to put a stop to the theft of supplies that are vital to the men who will be hitting the beaches on D-Day, he must make contact with a gunner who has been involved with the gang that is responsible. Unfortunately, the gunner's plane was shot down over France and the survivors are hidden in a chateau behind enemy lines. With the D-Day invasion just hours away, Billy and Kaz are sent to France long with Topper Chapman, a radioman and explosives expert, to contact the resistance and get the gunner to safety.
Each of James R. Benn' books featuring Billy Boyle has concentrated on a specific area of operation during WWII. Billy has been to England, North Africa, Anzio, the Vatican and even the Pacific. Working indirectly for his Uncle Ike as an investigator, he has been in the cent r o the action since his first adventure. ForWWII buffs and mystery fans it would be hard to find a better series. I'm looking forward to wherever Benn takes Billy in his next investigation.
Each of James R. Benn' books featuring Billy Boyle has concentrated on a specific area of operation during WWII. Billy has been to England, North Africa, Anzio, the Vatican and even the Pacific. Working indirectly for his Uncle Ike as an investigator, he has been in the cent r o the action since his first adventure. ForWWII buffs and mystery fans it would be hard to find a better series. I'm looking forward to wherever Benn takes Billy in his next investigation.
April 10, 2017
Billy Boyle is a series of US Army detective books in WWII and this is the first one I've read. I wasn't sure what to expect and the first few chapters of the book read like Mike Hammer and Kelly's Heroes. The writing was a bit cliched but I'm glad I soldiered on.
Once I got into the meat of the book I found this was more of a WWII resistance book of behind the lines action with the Maquis and down Allied airmen in occupied France. There's an honest to goodness French count, women operatives, Abwehr and good old fashioned bridge bombing and fighting.
The writing is easy to read and get into. The writing is not deep but the author packs a lot into 316 pages. The initial premise is actually left behind and becomes a sideplot as the story focuses on action in occupied France. I enjoyed it as the writing was very realistic and I felt trapped with Billy Boyle there. There is little mystery but I would recommend this story most to those who enjoy WWII action books. Having read this book, I would definitely be interested in reading others in this series. I got this book as a free review copy.
Once I got into the meat of the book I found this was more of a WWII resistance book of behind the lines action with the Maquis and down Allied airmen in occupied France. There's an honest to goodness French count, women operatives, Abwehr and good old fashioned bridge bombing and fighting.
The writing is easy to read and get into. The writing is not deep but the author packs a lot into 316 pages. The initial premise is actually left behind and becomes a sideplot as the story focuses on action in occupied France. I enjoyed it as the writing was very realistic and I felt trapped with Billy Boyle there. There is little mystery but I would recommend this story most to those who enjoy WWII action books. Having read this book, I would definitely be interested in reading others in this series. I got this book as a free review copy.
July 19, 2017
First book I've read in this series--I'll definietly read more
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