Review: Billy Boyle

Billy Boyle by James R. Benn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's 1941 and newly-minted Boston police detective Billy Boyle finds himself in the army attached to his Uncle Ike's staff in London. Uncle Ike happens to be General Dwight Eisenhower, and he's really a cousin of sorts, rather than Billy's uncle. Billy is an easy-going young man, always looking for the angle that best suits him, and he soon discovers that he has a whole new way of life to learn. Billy is sent to Beardsley Hall where Norwegian forces are stationed. The American and British leadership suspect that a spy for the Germans has been inserted into the Norwegians, and Billy's assignment is to uncover the traitor if one exists. Not long after he arrives at Beardsley Hall, one of the Norwegian officers is murdered. Billy's job becomes more complicated as he's put in charge of that investigation also.

I enjoyed this book. Billy is a very likable character who has a lot of maturing to do. The plot was twisty enough to keep me interested, and I also liked the WWII setting. I liked the way the totally fictional plot was set into a real military operation, Operation Jupiter, and I felt that the author had done a good job of researching the time period. I am looking forward to reading more in the series.

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