This review is posted on behalf of Katherine Miller.
For fans of historical fiction and the World War II era, the Billy Boyle series by James R. Benn is definitely worth a look. There are 15 books in the series and all are entertaining and enlightening.
Billy is a former Boston cop and just so happens to be the nephew of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Whenever Ike has some some knotty problem that might hinder the war effort, Billy is sent out to solve the mystery, usually in the thick of major World War II events. In the first book Billy looks for German spies in England and Norway, in the second h ferrets out black marketeers in North Africa, and so on. You name it, if something is happening in World War II, Billy is there. In one installment he even winds up in the South Pacific looking for a murderer with the help of a handsome young PT boat skipper, John F. Kennedy. Benn gives you some nice background to familiar battles and hotspots, and although critics have pointed out some historical errors, the books are overwhelmingly accurate and Benn often gives you a new perspective on some familiar slices of history.
The only negative in this series is Billy's tedious romance with the lovely Diana. Diana is a British spy who gets around as much as Billy does, but when Benn includes her in the plot you feel like you are reading from the diary of a lovesick seventh grader. Billy will be in some life or death struggle with bombs, bullets, dangers, and death all around him and we get a dose of "I wish I were with Diana! When will I see her again? I hope she's OK!" At that point the reader fervently hopes she is not OK and we'll never have to hear about her again. Can we get back to the war. please?
Putting Diana aside (please!), these are very entertaining books and certainly worth checking out.
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