The First Wave

July 23, 2007
In Benn’s high-spirited second WWII mystery (after 2006’s Billy Boyle
), tough, earthy Boston cop turned army lieutenant Boyle hunkers down in a landing craft during the gripping first-wave attack to liberate Algeria in 1942. Once ashore, Boyle sets out on an intelligence mission to sort out the power struggle among Vichy French traitors, free French forces and German occupiers. Boyle is soon taken into custody and catches a glimpse of his ex-girlfriend Diana, a British spy on a similar mission. He returns to friendly territory in time to find that a sergeant’s throat has been cut and vital morphine and penicillin supplies stolen. The enormous multinational cast makes it hard to determine a likely suspect, especially once Boyle uncovers a drug-smuggling network, American officers running poker parties and further murders of enlisted men, all somehow tied to a secret coded notebook. Historical figures like Adm. Jean Darlan give this lively story a bit of period flair.

Starred review from July 1, 2007
Take a young Irish cop. Turn him into a lieutenant on Eisenhower's personal staffone charged with being "Ike's investigator." Set him ashore on the coast of French North Africa along with the first wave of invading American troops. And watch the mayhem, mystery, and murder that are bound to follow. Corrupt Vichy French officers steal a shipment of American penicillin, killing a supply sergeant in the process. Benn follows up his first World War II mystery ("Billy Boyle") with another danger-filled episode and delivers a cross-genre tale that is at once spy story, soldier story, and hard-Boyled detective. Bullets, babes, and bombs give Billy Boyle a bad time before he solves the case, but you'll have a good time reading about it. Highly recommended for all mystery collections.Ken St. Andre, Phoenix P.L.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2007
Adult/High School-This sequel to "Billy Boyle" (Soho, 2006) is as full of action, murder, espionage, and romance as the first book. Young Billy is an engaging Irish-American cop from Boston who somehow manages to hold his own against seemingly insurmountable odds. Last time he was in England helping Uncle Ike (known to others as General Eisenhower) solve some thorny spy and murder business, and now he is with the first wave of Allied forces sent to liberate Algeria. The landing on the beach goes well, but then things get mysterious in a hurry. Murders occur, the Vichy commanders act in inexplicable ways, and the world's first field supply of a top-secret new miracle drug called penicillin goes missing. Billy had little more than basic training as a police detective before the war started, but once again he is called upon to untangle a web fraught with danger in every direction. Often winging it, and relying heavily on the two or three others he can trust, as well as a full helping of good luck, Billy manages to live up to the expectations of Uncle Ike. Some readers may find the love angle and the humble heroism a bit too melodramatic, and the identity of the evildoers too predicable, but Benn does manage to build the suspense and manipulate the historical detail with impressive skill. The story moves quickly, is easy to follow, and offers lots of intriguing information about the war in Algeria. Most importantly, though, the main characters have enough depth and complexity to hold readers' interest and concern."Robert Saunderson, Berkeley Public Library, CA"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2007
Like Mark Frost in The Second Objective (2007), Benn builds his Billy Boyle series around little-known snippets of World War II history: Billy Boyle (2006) concerned a proposed Allied invasion of Norway, and this time the focus is on Eisenhowers plan to invade Vichy-held Algeria, anticipating a quick surrender by the French. It doesnt happen quite like that, and along the way, Boyle, a special investigator with Eisenhowers staff, finds himself trying to solve a series of murders connected to black marketeers and working to rescue the captured British spy with whom he fell in love in the first book. The unusual premises are the best part of this series and will be certain to appeal to WWII fiction fans, though Benn continues to struggle with the nuts and bolts of character development and plotting. The identity of the Allied traitor is obvious early on, and the interpersonal relationships still fall prey to the kind of melodrama associated with WWII tearjerkers. Still, Benn is improving from book to book, and as his storytelling skills inch closer to his feel for the historical moment, this series could come into its own.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)