Customer Reviews

Rag and Bone: A Billy Boyle World War II Mystery

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"Rag and Bone" is author James Benn's fifth novel in his Billy Boyle series. Boyle, a Boston cop drafted into the US army during WW2, is saved from front-line duty by his relationship to an American general, who pulls some strings in book #1 and places Billy on his staff as a sort-of "personal cop". The general - "Uncle Ike" to Billy - is, of course, Dwight Eisenhower.

Ike is only one of the real-life characters Benn blends in with his fictional ones. Billy, from a family of smart Irish cops, finds himself involved in crimes from Ireland to north Africa. His "solve rate" is pretty good because he keeps returning, book after book. Benn's series writing is not always even. I've liked some books slightly better than others, but in this one, Benn turns in five-star writing.

Billy's job in "Rag and Bone" is to solve a murder of a Russian diplomat in London in 1944. About this time, news of the Katyn Massacre, the murder of 22,000 Polish officers by the Russians in mid-1940, has been leaking out. The Russians have blamed the Germans (who actually found the bodies in the Katyn forest near Smolensk) but the Poles know the truth about Soviet responsibility and are trying to get the British and the Americans to acknowledge the Russian complicity. Not so easy, as the Soviet Union is an ally of the British and the Americans and are fighting the Germans on the Eastern Front. The Soviets are keeping the Germans busy on in the east while the allies are planning the invasion of France, to make a two-front war for the Germans.

Politics, history, and patriotism all combine to make Billy's job difficult. More Russian diplomats are killed, smuggling-rings are exposed, and everyone's allegiance is suspect. Benn gives an excellent accounting of civilian life in England as well as military maneuvers of the war. This is Benn's best book so far. And an altogether excellent read.

After enjoying the first book in the series, "Billy Boyle," so much, I've been apprehensive each time a new one comes out, lest it not meet the high standards of the previous ones. Not to worry. Each one gets better as Benn becomes a more assured writer. The background, as always, is well researched and the plot lines interesting.

A couple of weeks ago, the Russian Parliament acknowledged that country's responsibility for the slaughter of more than 20,000 Polish officers at the Katyn Forest early on during World War II over the protests of the Communist Party. Katyn plays a prominent role in this novel, the fifth in the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries. When a Soviet officer is found murdered on a London street, hands tied behind his back and shot in the back of the head as were those murdered at Katyn, Billy is sent ahead to London from Italy by his Uncle Ike to solve the murder just days before the General and his staff were to arrive to set up Supreme Headquarfters for the invasion of France.

While the Poles in London, especially Billy's friend Kaz, have proof of the Russian complicity in the massacre, it was not in the interests of the British or American governments to upset the delicate balance in the wartime alliance, which depended on the pressure of the eastern front to offset the German defenses of the west. Now a first Lieutenant, Billy has to tread a fine line between all elements to find the killer and seek justice, while saving his friend, who is Scotland Yard's number one suspect.

As usual, the author uses and depicts history to set the stage for an intriguing murder mystery, with cameo performances by Uncle Dwight D. Eisenhower, FDR and Winston Churchill, among others, carrying forth the series from North Africa to Sicily and Italy to blitzed Britain, just before the Normandy invasion. Written with a blend of fact and fiction, the novel is a first-class crime novel, transcending the vivid scenes of Luftwaffe bombings, war-time shortages and deprivations, and is recommended.

A lieutenant attached to Eisenhower's staff as an investigator, Billy Boyle, former Boston cop, makes his fifth appearance in January 1944 as the murder of a Soviet officer in London threatens to derail the Allies' fragile alliance with Russia. The victim was a security officer, a member of the dreaded NKVD, and Boyle is immediately caught in a conflict.

His friend "Kaz", Lieutenant Kazmierz of the Polish government in exile, proves to be a suspect and not a quiet one. Kaz is determined to prove that the Russians massacred thousands of Polish military officers in the Katyn Forest, a war crime that the Russians are pinning on the Germans.

Boyle, pining for his English girlfriend (on assignment behind enemy lines), puts the pieces together while juggling his loyalties. The Allied brass will go to any lengths to keep the Russians on board against the Nazis and Poland is an acceptable price.

Benn succeeds in depicting the politics and ruthless pragmatism, while giving the reader a real sense of wartime London. " `The remains of homes and shops,' Kaz said....He trailed his fingers along the bricks, and I found I had to touch them as well. They were rough to the touch, and the smell of years of London's coal smoke, the grit of collapsed buildings, and the soot from raging fires lingered on my hand. The odor of the Blitz."

The story's background - the Katyn massacre and the events surrounding it - is factual and Benn's knowledge of wartime London, the black market and the crime bosses affiliated with it, the mood of the people, and the soldier's fatalistic but heady urge to seize the moment, give the well-paced story depth and character.

I just finished Rag and Bone and I think it's my favorite in the whole Billy Boyle series. Billy Boyle returns to England, part of the advance group for Uncle Ike's new offices. However, he really has to dig into the death of an ally, a Russian official who may have come to harm via the Poles. Once again, Benn creates such a great sense of place in this historical mystery. From some of the people of London still living in the Tube long after the Blitz to the unsure feelings between our allies in WWII, Billy and the reader have a lot to learn about human motivation. There is a bit of wistfulness for home in Billy's thoughts, he's been separated from family for over a year. Although in this series, he's surrounded himself with a different sort of family. The displaced Kaz, Big Mike from Detroit and the mysteriously occupied Diana are always on Billy's side.

The Billy Boyle Series just keeps getting better and better with each succesive book. This was another one I hated to finish reading. Yarns this good make one wish a new one came out every six months instaed of once a year! The characters both real and fictional are believable and breath life into every page and the bad guys are truly evil just as they should be. If you didn't know just how evil Stalin really was you will after you read this book!

The Billy Boyle series began with Billy, a raw young Irish-American Boston cop just promoted to detective and about to be drafted. But Billy's Mom is distantly related to "Cousin Mamie" and soon Billy has the promise of a lowly position on "Uncle Ike's" staff in Washington in which to sit out the war. But after Billy finishes basic training and OCS, he joins the staff in London, where Uncle Ike now commands US forces in Europe and finds that he needs a discreet murder investigator. Who better than 2nd Lt. Boyle, a former police detective--and family.

That's how Billy became Ike's go-to guy for highly secret and risky assignments. He has done well but not without wounds to body and soul, collateral damage from war's cruelty. Now (early 1944) Billy has another assignment, one with considerable peril for him and incalculable risk for inter-Allied unity.

A Russian embassy official has been murdered in London, possibly in revenge for the Katyn Forest massacre of Polish army officers and other leaders carried out, so the Polish government in exile in Britain claims, by the Soviet secret police (NKVD) to further a postwar Soviet takeover of Poland.

The Soviets blame Katyn on the Nazis. The British, anxious not to jeopardize relations with the USSR, have officially accepted the Soviet claim while the Americans have taken no position. Scotland Yard is investigating the murder and is said to suspect the Poles acting in revenge for Katyn. The Poles want the Russians blamed for Katyn and claim to have an eyewitness to the mass murders, but they deny any involvement in the London murder. Soon other Soviet personnel are assaulted or killed.

The problem concerns Ike, who is the newly appointed commander of the forthcoming D-Day invasion and must coordinate his efforts with the USSR. That means Billy must solve the case, and quickly.

Billy is plunged into a world darker than any he has seen. Everyone he contacts has an agenda and wants to limit his probing. Billy uncovers a top-secret program of the Army Air Force and the Russians; and a vicious British criminal gang that may be stealing from the Soviets, possibly with inside help. Billy also and finds that people assisting him are suddenly transferred. The Soviet NKVD controls all access to the Russian military delegation in Britain and stonewalls Billy. Scotland Yard's evidence implicates Billy's friend Kaz, a Polish officer, in the crimes against Soviet personnel. The evidence could be a plant but the British government is pushing to tie up the case in a neat Polish bow.

Billy can be sure of almost nothing and no one and inevitably makes some errors that could have major consequences for him and for the Allied war effort. The ending involves a major twist that changes Billy, possibly forever.

Author Benn had good plots from the start of this series and over time has deepened his characters considerably. The stories have more richly probed the waste and cruelty of even the most just of wars and the high cost to the survivors. This is the best yet.

Once again James R. Benn has demonstrated his mastery of mystery, history and adventure. In Rag And Bone, Billy Boyle must apply his investigative skills to avert a diplomatic crisis, save his best friend from accusations of murder, and deliver what justice he can. London during the renewed Blitz is the setting, and the scenes are cinematic, both above ground and in the Underground lair of a crime boss. Plus there's the trademark twist at the end. Recommended!

Truth is, I'm saving this book for my summer vacation "read." I have enjoyed all of the Billy Boyle mysteries so far. Readers, don't expect great depth...expect a good read with memorable characters and a cool sense of history to take on a trip or to the beach or for a rainy Sunday afternoon. Benn is a Connecticut guy with good attention to history of WWII and he sends his character to places where things were popping. I wouldn't miss one of this series and am chomping at the bit waiting for my arrival at Bradley to begin my "read." The tough part is choosing the book to read on the way home. I wish I had another Billy Boyle mystery for that leg of the journey.

Having read all the Billy Boyle novels except for EVIL FOR EVIL, each book seems better than the previous. Author Benn does well in separating truth from fiction and the reader can trust the obviously factually based elements. The author also provides a thoughtful post script with notes on the historical background. Benn does well in portraying real life characters such as Eisenhower and in this one, the infamous Kim Philby. Highly recommended for mystery buffs as well as for WWII buffs.