A Mortal Terror is number six in James R. Benn’s Billy Boyle World War II series, but new readers will find themselves right at home, even if they start here. Benn does a masterful job of interlacing fiction and history, placing hero Boyle right alongside Audie Murphy and the infamous Kim Philby, to seamless effect. Among the cast are engaging characters both admirable and despicable, whom the reader will thoroughly enjoy cheering for or booing. The sub-plots and intrigue will keep even the most jaded mystery reader guessing, right up to the end.
Boyle and his colleague, Kaz (that’s Lieutentant Baron Piotr Augustus Kazimierz, for long), are sent to Italy to investigate a spate of murders among U.S. Army troops. Boyle, a Boston P.D. detective before the war, is the kind to hear hoofbeats and look for the horse, completely overlooking the zebra in the background. Kaz admits the possible existence of zebras, and between the two of them they unravel the bizarre story. Oh, and while doing all that, they also manage to save the life of Boyle’s kid brother, Danny, freshly yanked out of college and tossed onto the front lines as a replacement.
In addition to well-crafted fiction, this nail-biting mystery offers a wealth of historical details and period perspective on a variety of issues: Kurt Gerstein, the SS officer who gave detailed account of the extermination of internment camp prisoners, and the Allies’ inability/unwillingness to credit his account; early attempts at identifying and treating shellshock/combat fatigue/PTSD; the invasion of Anzio, where, in the words of Winston Churchill, we “had hoped we were hurling a wildcat onto the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale.” From war-torn London to Hell’s Half Acre, and onto Anzio, Benn paints a picture so vivid that the reader can’t help but be swept up in the action.
A Mortal Terror stands well on its own, though it’s such a great read, it’s sure to send new readers scrambling to catch up on the series, and eagerly awaiting the next installment!
Comments