Billy Boyle Audiobook By James R. Benn cover art

Billy Boyle

A World War II Mystery

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Billy Boyle

By: James R. Benn
Narrated by: Marc Vietor
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What's a 22-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.

©2006 James R. Benn (P)2009 Audible, Inc. Mystery England Historical War Espionage Fiction

Critic reviews

"Benn crafts a crackling good adventure, with much flavorsome period color." (Kirkus Reviews)

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I don't understand the concern over an accent. The story was great. I understood every word and, to be honest, having been to Boston several times over the years, understanding what was said was not always a given.

To the story, the characters were real, I could see them. The situation was grave. My father had been a member of a B-17 crew based in England and he often praised them for their courage. I wasn't all that familiar with Norway's part in the war but I am now curious and will dig a little deeper. One book leads to another.

Very good thriller

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A bit slow at first, but being the 1st in the series it sets the characters well. The narrator holds this together during the slow spots. Excellent period accents, I will probably drop out on this series when they switch to another narrator I'm funny about what sound voices go into my head and Marc Vietor is the best.

It's worth the listen if you like the older style mystery without intense gore and sex.


Great Period Mystery

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I love the Billy Boyle series always looki g forward to the next. Author does a magnificent job at spinning a web of lies and deceit.

I absolutly love this series

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I almost didn’t listen to this book.

The opening scene put me off the first time I sampled it. I’m glad I came back. What I found was something much deeper than a wartime mystery.

What hooked me wasn’t the crime. It was that the story is interesting before the murder even happens. The world feels inhabited. The characters have lives and tensions that exist independently of the murder. When the crisis comes, it disrupts something real rather than simply launching the story.

Billy Boyle is a real hero, but not a larger-than-life hero. He’s grounded. He makes mistakes. He grows. And most importantly, he faces consequences without retreating into self-pity or abstraction. When he’s forced to make hard decisions, they arise from who he is and what he sees — not from a speech or a thesis imposed on the story.

There’s genuine moral navigation here. Characters act under pressure, with incomplete information, and within limits of authority. No one is cartoonishly evil, and no one is invulnerable. Humor runs alongside heroism, which keeps the story human rather than heavy.

If you like mysteries where the stakes are real, the growth accumulates, and the choices matter long after the chapter ends, this series is worth your time.

I’m looking forward to continuing.

Moral Navigation with Humor and Heart

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What does Marc Vietor bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

Other reviewers have criticized harshly the narrator's accent. Unless you are a linguistics expert from Boston, don't let this criticism dissuade you from trying this fast-paced mystery. I liked the narrator and his use of accents quite well.

Any additional comments?

This story will keep your attention. It is not bound to be a classic, but the writing is much better than for some of the formulaic mysteries that are so popular these days. The setting during World War II makes for an interesting backdrop.

Entertaining Story. Narrator is Quite Good

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