Rag and Bone: A Billy Boyle World War II Mystery
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Praise for the Billy Boyle series:
“Spirited wartime storytelling.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Blood Alone is an intriguing blend of history and fiction, superbly crafted and paced, easily the best period mystery I’ve read.”—Bookpage, Mystery of the Month
“The Billy Boyle novels have quickly customary themselves as best in class . . . past mysteries that seamlessly blend fact with fiction, are replete with period details, [and] incorporate an engaging, intricate and suspenseful tale.”—Mysterious Reviews
“An entertaining series based on fascinating past premises.”—Booklist
Billy is sent to London in the midst of a Luftwaffe bombing offensive to investigate the murder of a Soviet official. There’s reason to judge that the crime could be connected to the recent discovery of mass graves in the Katyn jungle, where thousands of Polish officers were executed. Is a killer is out there, targeting Soviet officials in revenge for the Katyn Massacre? If so, the diplomatic stakes couldn’t be privileged as the uneasy relationship between the Soviets and the additional allied powers hangs in the balance. Further complicating matters, Scotland Yard names Billy’s friend Kaz, now effective for the Polish government in exile, as the prime suspect. Billy must track the killer through London’s criminal underworld and save his friend.
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This is a fantastic WWII-era detective novel, featuring a spunky, kind-hearted American boy as US Army investigator stationed in Europe. Spot-on past detail, rich in wartime atmosphere and cultural sensitivity, and a fantastic murder mystery. I particularly appreciated James Benn’s ability to combine the lighthearted–there is a heist of canned peaches at one point in the novel–with the very serious: central to the plot is a (real, past) covered-up massacre of [allied] Poles by [allied] Russians. I feel both edified and entertained coming out of this.
I hadn’t read any of the previous books in the Billy Boyle series when I read this, so I would clarify it as able to stand alone, but I liked it so much I intend to go back and read the previous installments in the series.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
In December 1943, recently promoted to First Lieutenant with his Uncle Ike pinning the rank on his uniform, Billy Boyle enjoys R&R in Italy with his girlfriend. But, his place is finished abruptly as he is needed in London to investigate the homicide of a Soviet officer.
Briefed as to the urgency of solving the case yesterday delicately with the allies shaky alliance shook, Billy looks into the theory that the murder was revenge retribution for the Katyn jungle massacre of thousands of Polish soldiers in which the Nazis were blamed, but most judge the Communists committed the atrocities. Thus most of the brass believes the assassin works for the Polish government in exile in London; which places Billy in a sensitive position as he fears one of his friends is the killer.
The fifth Billy Boyle WWII thriller (see Evil for Evil, The First Wave and Blood Alone) is a terrific tale in which life in the home front is vividly depicted inside the strong investigative tale line. Using real persona like Ike to attach time and place, this remains Billy’s novel as he is fabulous while struggling with walking the political landmines to learn the truth.
Harriet Klausner
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
Having read all the Billy Boyle novels except for EVIL FOR EVIL, each book seems better than the previous. Leader Benn does well in separating truth from fiction and the reader can trust the obviously factually based fundamentals. The leader also provides a thoughtful post speech with notes on the past background. Benn does well in portraying real life characters such as Eisenhower and in this one, the infamous Kim Philby. Highly recommended for mystery buffs as well as for WWII buffs.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
I just finished Rag and Bone and I reflect it’s my favorite in the whole Billy Boyle series. Billy Boyle returns to England, part of the advance group for Uncle Ike’s new offices. But, he really has to dig into the death of an ally, a Russian official who may have come to harm via the Poles. Once again, Benn makes such a fantastic sense of place in this past mystery. From some of the people of London still living in the Tube long after the Blitz to the unsure feelings between our allies in WWII, Billy and the reader have a lot to learn about human motivation. There is a bit of wistfulness for home in Billy’s thoughts, he’s been separated from family tree for over a year. Although in this series, he’s surrounded himself with a different sort of family tree. The displaced Kaz, Huge Mike from Detroit and the mysteriously occupied Diana are permanently on Billy’s side.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
The Billy Boyle Series just keeps getting better and better with each succesive book. This was another one I despised to end reading. Yarns this excellent make one wish a new one came out every six months instaed of once a year! The characters both real and fictional are believable and breath life into every page and the terrible guys are truly evil just as they should be. If you didn’t know just how evil Stalin really was you will after you read this book!
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5