Blue Madonna
Written by James R. Benn
Narrated by Peter Berkrot
4/5
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About this audiobook
James R. Benn
James R. Benn is the author of the popular Billy Boyle World War II mystery series. The debut title, Billy Boyle, was a Dilys Award nominee and one of Booksense’s top five mysteries for 2006. Subsequent titles have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, and two have been tagged as “Killer Books” by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. Benn lives in Hadlyme, Connecticut, with his wife, Deborah Mandel. For more information, visit his website at www.jamesrbenn.com.
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The White Ghost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devouring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blue Madonna Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solemn Graves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When Hell Struck Twelve Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Red Horse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Road of Bones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Proud Sorrows Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom the Shadows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Blue Madonna
22 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Billy Boyle begins this mystery being court martialed on trumped up charges that even he doesn't understand. All become clears when Colonel Harding makes an appearance and the investigation into black market goods, gangs and the military begins. Boyle, his friend Kaz and a radio operator are dropped into France shortly before what will become DDay. Hiding out at a chateau with missing airmen, members of the French resistance and a lot of art work makes this story encompass a lot of what you hear about WWII in one book. They just keep getting better and better and I wonder what Benn will do when he runs out of war.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benn takes a mundane WW2 military theft investigation into the war itself as Billy goes into occupied France to retrieve a witness, a US aircrewman. That it is on the eve of D-Day adds a sense of urgency as well as opportunities to show the Nazis at their worst and the Resistance at their best. An interesting locale and a well-engineered rail bridge destruction add a level of genuine authenticity. With Billy still in France as the story end; one hopes the series continues.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I first picked up this book about a secret mission, by an ex-Boston policeman turned military investigator, named Billy Boyle (who names their tough guy hero Billy?), into France during World War II, I expected another run of the mill adventure yarn loosely based on the war in Europe. After a few chapters setting up the premise and introducing the characters, I came to find a good story laced with accuracy and plenty of action and suspense. The telling is in the details. This fast paced tale of theft of military property and black marketeers highlights a problem that was rampant in England during the Allied occupation in preparation for the D-Day invasion of Europe. The problems of theft and desertion from the Allied armies eventually spilled over onto the continent. As the story evolves, it presents a good portrait of the operations in France of a small group of brave men and women who operated behind the lines as undercover agents in France risking certain death or worse if they were caught. As the Allies pushed through France and on into Germany, thousands of tons of supplies were stolen by deserters who allied themselves with black marketeers trying to make fortunes off of supplies desperately needed for the Allied fighting men. This is an interesting tale of a part of the war that is often overlooked. Book provided for review by Amazon Vine.