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Billy Boyle

A World War II Mystery

James R. Benn

Dieses Buch könnte Teil der Serie A Billy Boyle WWII Mystery sein.

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Passes the "Bechdel Test"

What’s a twenty-two-year-old Irish American cop who’s never been out of Massachusetts before doing at Beardsley Hall, an English country house, having lunch with King Haakon of Norway? Billy Boyle himself wonders. Back home in Southie, he’d barely made detective when war was declared. Unwilling to fight—and perhaps die—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 the general turns out to be Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose headquarters are in London, which is undergoing …

What’s a twenty-two-year-old Irish American cop who’s never been out of Massachusetts before doing at Beardsley Hall, an English country house, having lunch with King Haakon of Norway? Billy Boyle himself wonders. Back home in Southie, he’d barely made detective when war was declared. Unwilling to fight—and perhaps die—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 the general turns out to be Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose headquarters are in London, which is undergoing the Blitz. And Uncle Ike wants Billy to be his personal investigator.

Billy is dispatched to the seat of the Norwegian government in exile. Operation Jupiter, the impending invasion of Norway, is being planned, but it is feared that there is a German spy amongst the Norwegians.

Billy doubts his own abilities, with good reason. A theft and two murders test his investigative powers, but Billy proves to be a better detective than he or anyone else expected.

E-Book, 304 Seiten

Sprache: English

Am 1. September 2007 von Soho Crime veröffentlicht.

ISBN:: 978-1-56947-672-7
ISBN kopiert!
OCLC-Nummer:: 842877724
Goodreads:: 11862637

Themen

Detective and mystery stories
Historical fiction
Fiction
Underground movements
World War, 1939-1945
Sabotage
History
World war, 1939-1945, fiction
Fiction, mystery & detective, general
Fiction, historical
Norway, fiction
Fiction, mystery & detective, historical
Fiction, crime
London (england), fiction
Irish americans, fiction
Private investigators, fiction
Billy Boyle (Fictitious character)
Fiction, historical, general

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Phil in SF hat Billy Boyle von James R. Benn besprochen (A Billy Boyle WWII Mystery, #1)

I liked it despite its flaws

3,5 stars

Billy Boyle is a young Boston cop whose family pulls strings with their Congressman and "Uncle Ike" (Eisenhower) to get a cushy officer position rather than an infantry position in WW2. Ike wants to use him as a special investigator, and the first case is to root out a man who is part of the Norwegian government in exile and also a Nazi spy. While on the grounds of Beardsley Hall, where the Norwegian government-in-exile is located, one of two men competing for King Haakon's ear appears to be murdered. Boyle's search for the spy is now also a search for a murderer.

I found the story enjoyable, especially the early parts of the book where Boyle lays out how he's not really a top-notch detective. Rather he's barely made the rank when he was inducted. And the initial investigation stuff is great too, as it involves things like …

Billy Boyle is a young Boston cop whose family pulls strings with their Congressman and "Uncle Ike" (Eisenhower) to get a cushy officer position rather than an infantry position in WW2. Ike wants to use him as a special investigator, and the first case is to root out a man who is part of the Norwegian government in exile and also a Nazi spy. While on the grounds of Beardsley Hall, where the Norwegian government-in-exile is located, one of two men competing for King Haakon's ear appears to be murdered. Boyle's search for the spy is now also a search for a murderer.

I found the story enjoyable, especially the early parts of the book where Boyle lays out how he's not really a top-notch detective. Rather he's barely made the rank when he was inducted. And the initial investigation stuff is great too, as it involves things like following money, interviewing staff, and searching rooms. Later in the story the investigation turns more to speculative means, and I don't enjoy that as much. However, the story throughout also includes a lot of the developing friendship between Boyle, British Second Officer Daphne Seaton, and Polish officer-in-exile Piotr "Kaz" Kazimierz. That made up for the investigation veering into methods I dislike in my fiction.

Lastly, the ending is pretty unbelievable, and doesn't hold together on its own terms. I didn't really mind that much, but if you like your mysteries to make sense all the way to the end, this is not the book for you.

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