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The Girl With The White Flag

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The Girl With The White Flag - an Eddy Boyle Thriller

Eddy Boyle is a retired soldier who has set up a private detective agency that survives on cases involving unfaithful spouses.

But when Fletcher, a retired army Colonel, contacts Eddy to help find his missing daughter, a chain of events is set in motion that will test Eddy's resolve to the limit.

Has the girl been abducted or has she simply run away? Is Fletcher the real deal or does he have ulterior motives? Can Eddy pick his way through the double-dealing in time to rescue the kidnapped girl? And when the body count starts to rise and Eddy is framed for murder, can he avoid the police, conquer his own mental demons and find the girl before time runs out?

This is the first book in the explosive new Eddy Boyle series.

Move over Jack Reacher - there's a new anti-hero in town!

Editorial reviews:
"Meet Eddy Boyle, disillusioned ex-military and righter of wrongs. One of the most intriguing heroes who guides you through explosive drama. Eddie Boyle is set to become an icon." Betsy Reavley, author of the best-selling thrillers The Quiet Ones, The Optician's Wife & Carrion.

The Girl With The White Flag is an explosive thriller that will appeal to fans of Lee Child, David Baldacci, Tom Clancy & Mark Dawson

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2016

55 people are currently reading
82 people want to read

About the author

Ed Penney

2 books1 follower

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah.
2,993 reviews232 followers
July 12, 2016
The Girl With The White Flag very much reminds me of the old private investigator movies that were set in the 1940’s apart from it being set in modern day.

The story is told in the first person so we get to know what is going on in Eddy’s head. I think by doing it in the first person it makes what would other wise be a dark read a lot more light hearted.

Eddy certainly likes to push his luck. He has quite a confidence about him, well on the outside he certainly appears to be though not all the time on the inside.

What starts off as an investigation into a missing girl turns out to be a lot more sinister.

I liked Edie, Eddy’s love interest, and again she reminds me of the leading ladies that would always star in the private investigator movies. She is very sure of herself and certainly has a certain charisma about her. Her and Eddy certainly seem to be the perfect match.

The Girl With The White Flag is certainly quite a different crime novel as it feels very different to others that are around. Different in a good way though and it is certainly a good start to what looks set to be a good series.

My thanks to Bloodhound Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Caz C Cole.
263 reviews38 followers
July 13, 2016
The book centers around private detective Eddy Boyle, who has a detective agency with his friend from the army, Joe Spencer. They are desperate for new clients. When one comes up, Eddy takes the opportunity with both hands, it involves the kidnapping of the 17-year old Julia Fletcher, daughter of the wealthy and influential Fletcher.

We see Eddy in and out pubs, nightclubs and all sorts of places where they serve a pint of beer or a whisky. He meets up with informants, checks out a rumour about a Romanian sex traffic gang lead by the extremely dangerous and cold-blooded Dragu. Is this the nasty criminal that has kidnapped Julia Fletcher? A gorgeous blonde falls for him, she is called Edie. Instantly, she helps him with his investigation – asks questions in dubious nightclubs and even fabricates a cover story, including fake business cards, after only knowing Eddy one day.

Eddy is your typical anti-hero who has messed up his first marriage and who suffers from PTSD after having been ambushed in the Middle East while in the army. Can he trust Edie or better yet, can Eddy trust himself?

The recurring nightmares Eddy experiences give an insight into his deepest fears and even more, his profound feeling of guilt. Slowly, one nightmare after another, it is revealed who the girl in the white flag was and what she stood for.

When looking at the title it is suggested that indeed the investigation is not the most important plot of the book, but that what happened during the war. The plot and the different schemes with their apparent explanations did not convince me. But look upon the book as a man coming to terms with his past, to accept and acknowledge the responsibility for what he has done. That feels for me like the really strong and touching parts of the book, where the reader learns about the war, about the men that bonded for life because of their time together under those awful circumstances.

That trust between the brothers in arms, such complete confidence in every one of their team, combined with their joint feelings of guilt, was moving. Set aside the in my opinion somewhat thin plotline, for me there lies the potential of the book as well as the entertaining and enjoyable writing style. The chapters that are focused on the men struggling to come to terms with their past, those are the best parts of the book to me.

Read the full review on my website: http://www.bitsaboutbooks.net/the-gir...
Profile Image for Terry.
1,108 reviews35 followers
July 12, 2016
Retired soldier Eddie Boyle is now a private detective.
Hired by his ex Colonel, Fletcher, who's daughter has gone missing.
Eddie isn't sure if she has run away or kidnapped. Eddie meets Edie & now he's even more confused.
Time could be a problem, murder & bodies even bigger problem!
Enjoyed reading this, though did put me in mind of the old style Noir fiction detective books. Not that the book is old fiction or the story just the way my mind perceived it.
785 reviews
January 6, 2018
This is a good read.

Plenty of twists and turns to hold your interest and keep you turning the pages. The ending was a real surprise.
8 reviews
July 29, 2018
Very good book

Captivating story will keep you interested and on the edge of your seat. Keeps you guessing till the very end.
10 reviews
February 19, 2017
Great read

Great book with believable characters with their own demons. I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting.
Profile Image for Caroline.
774 reviews5 followers
July 12, 2016
I don't know what to think of this book, the story is well plotted and the character of Eddy Boyle is well developed and believable to some extent. This is a detective noir story, with the protagonist not being the most likeable of people. However the book itself had some issues for me, the Noir element felt a bit like a caricature of what Noir fiction should be. More who framed roger rabbit noir than anything written by Chandler or Hammett. This style of writing just didn't work for me and spoiled some of my enjoyment of the book, this however is an entirely personal thing and as I have discussed above the book is well crafted and well plotted. The ending is a little scooby doo esque but works with the format of the story itself.
The difficult past of the protagonist is well handled but other than providing him with motivation doesn't add that much to the story, so maybe didn't need to be discussed as much as it did. The interaction between all the characters was well written and I like that none of the characters were overly likeable. I think that this added well to the story and made it much more credible. If you are a fan of Hardboiled noir fiction than this could be the book for you.
Profile Image for Misfits farm.
2,112 reviews86 followers
July 13, 2016
Ed is a private detective with PTSD having seen service in the forces. His business is on the floor as pretty much is his life. He needs a job to sort himself out and quick. One comes along as does a new influence which makes for his head to turn in ways that it hasn’t for many years however things that are too good to be true usually are- or are they? Written in the first person this is a light heartedly written story (although a serious subject behind it) which does make you laugh at the main character and his “in his head psychologist”. His “job” is to find a missing teenager who at 17 having been cossetted all of her life may just have run away to have a life of her own rather than one dictated by Daddy. Trouble is, that “Daddy” is his old Colonel and is now extremely wealthy which is a new cause of concern in itself.
A wonderfully entertaining story with a Miss Marpel-esque ending (all in one room sat around wondering who the perpetrator is). An excellent story with a believable plot and some very interesting characters most of all Eddy whom I hope we meet again soon. I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an open and honest review. Thank you to Bloodhound books.
Profile Image for B.A. Steadman.
Author 2 books31 followers
July 13, 2016
This is a 'Boys Own', treat 'em mean, shoot 'em up romp of a novel. The anti-hero, Eddy Boyle is a tough ex-soldier private eye hired to find a rich man's daughter. He needs all the help he can get, and leaves a trail of destruction in his wake as he completes his mission. I enjoyed the Army buddies storyline. Penney captures the sense of loss that soldiers experience when they are suddenly on the outside, and the ease with which they slip back into Army roles to get the bad guys. I would have liked a bit more character development, some of the characters were well-known 'noir' tropes, and Penney is a good enough writer to create his own. Readers who enjoy Chris Ryan and Andy McNab tales will love this, and Penney has a hero who will grow and grow.
782 reviews27 followers
July 12, 2016
This is a great debut novel! I was sent an ACR of this novel in exchange for an honest review and I am very grateful to Bloodhound Books for giving me this opportunity. The lead character is an ex-soldier turned private investigator, and his back story is as compelling as the case he is involved in. Both aspects of his life have a violent edge to them but the style of the novel stops the violence from being overwhelming. I like the witty and punchy style which has something of the wit and humour of Raymond Chandler about it. I very much look forward to further novels by Ed Penney.
Profile Image for Lisa.
211 reviews
July 14, 2016
I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Bloodhound Books. This is the first book featuring Eddy Boyle,a retired soldier who sets up a private detective agency that survives on cases involving unfaithful spouses.
I enjoyed this book and the style it was written in. It had me gripped from the first page and found it quite witty in places. I look forward to the next Eddy Boyle installment.
Profile Image for Val.
85 reviews
July 17, 2016
Thanks to Bloodhound Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Greetings Eddy Boyle. Ex military now PI.
I enjoyed this book despite it taking me a while to get to grips with it. The finale was gripping and exciting . The writing style reminded me of Alan McDermott's, Tom Gray.
Looking forward to the next instalment.
921 reviews11 followers
December 3, 2016
Good first in a series

I know this is listed as a thriller, but I just can not see it as a thriller. It is a great crime novel, and a good mystery but as thrillers go, in my opinion, it just didn't work out that way. Even with mystery, there's more to the facts to lead you to truth than this book offers. It was good not great.
Profile Image for David.
1,767 reviews2 followers
April 22, 2017
Very good read and will look forward to the next one.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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