- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Soho Press (Sep 1 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1569478511
- ISBN-13: 978-1569478516
- Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 2.2 x 22.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #762,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
Praise for the Billy Boyle series:
“Benn continues to create fascinating behind-the-scenes mysteries from little-known facets of World War II history. . . . A fast-paced mix of action, adventure, and crime solving. . . . A solid series that keeps getting better.”—Booklist
“The Billy Boyle novels have quickly established themselves as best in class . . . historical mysteries that seamlessly blend fact with fiction, are replete with period details, [and] incorporate an engaging, intricate and suspenseful story.”—Mysterious Reviews
“A triple dose of excitement with a murder mystery within a spy thriller within a World War Two adventure story. . . . A ‘rattling good read.’”—Rhys Bowen
“A solid follow up to Benn’s first novel. . . . [I] look forward to his next.”—Robert B. Parker
“What a great read, full of action, humor and heart. . . . Equal parts spy thriller, war story and murder mystery, with a dollop of romance that’s never sweet, this is just a terrific book. More please!”—Louise Penny
“Benn continues to create fascinating behind-the-scenes mysteries from little-known facets of World War II history. . . . A fast-paced mix of action, adventure, and crime solving. . . . A solid series that keeps getting better.”—Booklist
“The Billy Boyle novels have quickly established themselves as best in class . . . historical mysteries that seamlessly blend fact with fiction, are replete with period details, [and] incorporate an engaging, intricate and suspenseful story.”—Mysterious Reviews
“A triple dose of excitement with a murder mystery within a spy thriller within a World War Two adventure story. . . . A ‘rattling good read.’”—Rhys Bowen
“A solid follow up to Benn’s first novel. . . . [I] look forward to his next.”—Robert B. Parker
“What a great read, full of action, humor and heart. . . . Equal parts spy thriller, war story and murder mystery, with a dollop of romance that’s never sweet, this is just a terrific book. More please!”—Louise Penny
Book Description
Fifty Browning Automatic Rifles have been stolen from a US Army base in Northern Ireland. His “uncle” Ike Eisenhower sends Billy to recover the weapons, which might be used in a German-sponsored IRA uprising. Bodies begin to accumulate as Billy finds unexpected challenges to his Boston-Irish upbringing and IRA sympathies. There are rogues on both sides, he learns.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
I hope the war drags on..., Sep 10 2009
By M. S. Butch - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Evil for Evil: A Billy Boyle World War II Mystery (Hardcover)
Like other reviewers, I have read all of the Billy Boyle mysteries, and I look forward to the next with anticipation."Evil for Evil" has the most complex plot of the series so far, and enough characters and conflicting loyalties that I almost had to make myself a cheat sheet. The author juggles the characters, the plot, the dialogue, the action scenes, seemingly effortlessly.
Others have described the story in detail, so I'll be brief. It is 1943, and Billy Boyle, former South Boston cop, Army lieutenant, and special investigator to General Eisenhower, is sent to Ireland to investigate the theft of a shipment of heavy guns. The Allies are concerned that the stolen guns will somehow be used to try to create enough chaos in Ireland (between Ulster and independent Eire) to hamper the war effort and siphon off troops from the European theater.
Billy is a wonderful character - Benn manages to convey his youth and generally sunny disposition in his thoughts. From book to book we see him maturing but still maintaining his informality and using his brains. In "Evil for Evil" he is forced for the first time to weigh the loyalties he was taught from infancy by his Irish Catholic family against the reality of life in Protestant Ulster, and to work with British police, the British army, and British spies to fulfill his mission. The contrast between the romanticised Ireland cherished by American descendants of Irish immigrants and the actual Ireland torn apart by decades of guerilla warfare becomes obvious.
Who are the "good guys" and who are the "bad guys" in this story? Every character has suffered heartbreak and injustice inflicted by the "other side". Each has reached his or her own conclusion of how to deal with it, and their actions intertwine to build the story.
For other readers of the series, there is very little of Diana, and no sighting of Kaz, so we will just have to keep waiting for them.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Evil for Evil, Aug 9 2009
By Douglas Mcqueen "Doug McQueen" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Evil for Evil: A Billy Boyle World War II Mystery (Hardcover)
I've read all the titles in this great series, and Evil for Evil might be James Benn's best yet in the Billy Boyle books. If you like mysteries with just the right touch of action, skillfully crafted, you'll love Benn's books. Evil for Evil combines the familiar World War II backdrop of previous Billy Boyle adventures with the complex tensions of a divided Ireland. A former Boston cop now working for General Ike, Billy Boyle has never faced a dilemma like this one: enemies abound, from Nazi commandos to crooked policemen to mysterious beautiful women, all confounding his efforts to find 50 stolen Browning Automatic Rifles. One strange twist after another keeps the action popping, but this is more than an action novel. Benn's Boyle books are true mysteries that keep the reader guessing right to the story's conclusion. I'm hooked on this series and can't wait to see what Billy gets into next.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A top pick and highly recommended read that mystery lovers will simply relish, Jan 11 2010
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Evil for Evil: A Billy Boyle World War II Mystery (Hardcover)
An enemy right next door may prove difficult for an already difficult situation. "Evil for Evil" follows Billy Boyle, as he is sent to Northern Ireland to potentially put a wrench in a plot that would allow the separate country to join the Axis powers. A tall order for a southern boy, James R. Benn crafts a fine story using much of the trivia of history in his tale. "Evil for Evil" is a top pick and highly recommended read that mystery lovers will simply relish.
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