About this item

March, 1944: US Army Lieutenant Billy Boyle, back in England after a dangerous mission in Italy, is due for a little R&R, and also a promotion. But the now-Captain Boyle doesn't get to kick back and enjoy his leisure time because two upsetting cases fall into his lap at once. The first is a personal request from an estranged friend: Sergeant Eugene "Tree" Jackson, who grew up with Billy in Boston, is part of the 617th Tank Destroyers, the all-African American battalion poised to make history by being the US Army's first combatant African American company. But making history isn't easy, and the 617th faces racism at every turn. One of Tree's men, a gunner named Angry Smith, has been arrested for a crime he almost certainly didn't commit, and faces the gallows if the real killer isn't found.



About the Author

James R. Benn

Writing the Billy Boyle World War II mystery series (published by the wonderful folks at Soho Press) has given me much joy. I've gotten to meet people in person and online from all over the world and hear their reactions, feedback, and most importantly, their own stories. My latest book, SHARD, is a stand-alone and a bit of a departure. It tells the story of what went on in the POW camps in North Korea during that "forgotten war". These POWs were the forgotten men of the forgotten war. I hope readers find it of interest, and it helps to keep the truth of their experiences alive.I also have two stand-alone books published by Open Road Media. On Desperate Ground is a WWII thriller in the grand tradition of Jack Higgins, and Souvenir is an exploration of memory, identity, sorrow and loss during the lifetime of a veteran of the Second World War.The latest Billy Boyle novel, Road of Bones, is the sixteenth in the series and already looks to be one of the most popular.My idea for a historical mystery series set within the Allied High Command during the Second World War began with the first title, Billy Boyle, which takes place in England and Norway in 1942. The second, The First Wave, carries on a few months later during the Allied invasion of French Northwest Africa. The third, Blood Alone continues the story through the Allied invasion of Sicily. In the fourth installment, Evil For Evil, Billy Boyle voyages to his native Ireland. The fifth book in the series deals with the infamous Katyn Massacre of Polish Officers by the Soviets, and how the uncovering of that crime affected the war, especially Polish-Americans and the Poles in exile in England. It is titled Rag and Bone (from the Yeats poem) . Number six, titled A Mortal Terror, is set in southern Italy and within the Anzio Beachhead, where Billy tracks down the Red Heart Killer, who is targeting officers of increasingly senior rank. Mortal terror deals with combat fatigue and the terrible effects of prolonged exposure to the not only combat but the rigors of winter in the mountains.Death's Door (#7) takes Billy into occupied Rome, to investigate the murder of an American monsignor within the walls of the neutral Vatican City. In the 8th installment, A Blind Goddess, Billy is back in England prior to D-Day and working to clear a black GI of murder charges. The Rest is Silence (#9) was released on 9/2/14 and features the disaster surrounding Operation Tiger, a D-Day training event at Slapton Sands in southwest England that went terribly wrong. The tenth Billy Boyle novel, The White Ghost, takes him to distant waters in the South Pacific. Number 11, Blue Madonna, finds Billy Boyle behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day. Book #12, The Devouring, takes Billy and Kaz to the supposedly neutral nation of Switzerland, where they find the Gestapo, gold, and greed.The thirteenth novel, Solemn Graves (2018) and the next, When Hell Struck Twelve (2019) , are set in Normandy and Paris as



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