The Red Horse

July 1, 2020
Did the drowsy patient fall from the clock tower, did he jump, or was he pushed? Narrator Billy Boyle, captain with the American Allied Expeditionary Force and frequent sleuth, finds himself a patient at Saint Albans Pauper Lunatic Asylum in England, with little recollection of how he got there and only slightly clearer memories of his sidekick, Kaz. Both Boyle's lover, Diana, and Kaz's sister, Angelika, have been taken to the Nazi prison camp of Ravensbr�ck. A moment after Billy spots two men in the asylum's clock tower, one of them--Thomas Holland, the only survivor of a unit that was captured by the Germans and repeatedly tortured--flies through the air to his death. Billy grows suspicious under the aggressive questioning of Dr. Robinson, the head of the asylum. He searches the facility until he finds Kaz, who suggests that Billy break into Robinson's office, where Billy pores over Holland's file. Strangely, Robinson's notes on Holland are sparse. But both Kaz and Holland have been treated with Robinson's unusual "sleep cure"; could Holland's tumble be an accidental fall? The arrival of Billy's old pals Big Mike and Lt. Feliks Kanski, along with the no-nonsense Maj. Charles Cosgrove, provides possible reinforcements in Billy's search for the truth. The multilayered plot leaves the asylum grounds to follow the exploits of the Special Operations Executive as well as the eponymous resistance group and a possible link to some at Saint Albans. Benn's latest caper has fascinating historical roots and nicely balances action and investigation.

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Starred review from July 27, 2020
Set in 1944, Benn’s superlative 15th WWII mystery featuring U.S. Army investigator Billy Boyle (after 2019’s When Hell Struck Twelve) finds Boyle confined to a former lunatic asylum converted to a hospital outside London, where he’s recovering from a traumatic experience. A recent mission in Paris was betrayed to the Germans, leaving Boyle’s love interest, Lady Diana Seaton, an undercover British operative, in the hands of the Gestapo. While on the hospital grounds, Boyle witnesses a fellow patient, Thomas Holland, fall to his death from a clock tower. Having seen a second figure near Holland right before his death, the former Boston homicide cop isn’t inclined to credit the official view that the fatality was either suicide or an accident. His status as a patient being treated for depression and disorientation after taking too much methamphetamine makes investigating a challenge. Boyle’s suspicions increase after someone else on the grounds is stabbed to death. Benn maintains a high level of tension throughout, and his admirable but flawed lead will engage even first-time readers. This fair-play whodunit stands comparison with the best classic mysteries.

August 1, 2020
U.S. Army Captain Billy Boyle and his friend Lieutenant Kaz Kazimierz are back in England, having survived the liberation of Paris (When Hell Struck Twelve, 2019). Unfortunately, they are virtual prisoners in St. Albans Special Hospital for agents possessing clandestine information. Kaz's problem is physical: his dicey heart nearly gave out in Paris, and now his only hope is an operation the army won't authorize. Billy's issues are mental, the result of exhaustion and amphetamine overload. Partially jolted from his psychic fog after he sees a fellow inmate pushed from a clock tower, Billy is soon investigating several murders in the supposedly secure facility. Once again, Benn draws on little-known aspects of WWII to construct a fascinating wartime thriller. St. Albans is based on Inverlair Lodge, a similar facility that was also the fictionalized setting in the TV series The Prisoner, and the plot's cornerstone draws on Operation Periwinkle, a disinformation campaign aimed at confusing the Nazis about Resistance activities. Benn skillfully adapts those elements into a compelling variation on a locked-room mystery, delivering another detail-rich novel sure to entrance those who relish deep dives into WWII history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)