Fifty Browning Automatic Rifles have been stolen from a US Army base in Northern Ireland. His βuncleβ Ike Eisenhower sends Billy to recover the weapons, which might be used in a German-sponsored IRA uprising. Bodies begin to accumulate as Billy finds unexpected challenges to his Boston-Irish upbringing and IRA sympathies. There are rogues on both sides, he learns.
From the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
A twisting, turning plot drives Benn's gripping fourth WWII mystery to feature Lt. Billy Boyle (after 2008's Blood Alone). Billy, a former Boston cop and a nephew by marriage to General Eisenhower, on whose staff he serves, receives orders in late 1943 to look into a raid on a U.S. Army depot in Northern Ireland. The thieves took 50 new Browning automatic rifles plus 200,000 rounds of ammunition. A few miles from the depot, the body of a known IRA man was found shot in the back of the head with a pound note in his handβthe mark of an informer. Billy's military superiors suspect the Germans are supporting an IRA uprising. As an Irish-American whose family is sympathetic to the Republican cause, Billy struggles to remain impartial as he investigates the various factions on both sides of the Catholic-Protestant divide. Benn offers no easy answers in this rich mix of Irish history and wartime intrigue. Author tour. (Sept.)
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Review
Praise for the Billy Boyle series:
βBenn continues to create fascinating behind-the-scenes mysteries from little-known facets of World War II history. . . . A fast-paced mix of action, adventure, and crime solving. . . . A solid series that keeps getting better.ββ Booklist
βThe Billy Boyle novels have quickly established themselves as best in class . . . historical mysteries that seamlessly blend fact with fiction, are replete with period details, [and] incorporate an engaging, intricate and suspenseful story.ββ Mysterious Reviews
βA triple dose of excitement with a murder mystery within a spy thriller within a World War Two adventure story. . . . A βrattling good read.βββRhys Bowen
βA solid follow up to Bennβs first novel. . . . [I] look forward to his next.ββRobert B. Parker
βWhat a great read, full of action, humor and heart. . . . Equal parts spy thriller, war story and murder mystery, with a dollop of romance thatβs never sweet, this is just a terrific book. More please!ββLouise Penny