Audiobooks by James R. Benn

"THE SIXTH BILLY BOYLE INVESTIGATION 1943: US Army Lieutenant Billy Boyle, an ex-cop who serves as detective for General Ike, is sent to Caserta, Italy, to investigate the murders of two American officers stationed there. The MOs are completely different, and it seems like the officers had no connection to each other, but one frightening fact links the murders. Each body was discovered with a single playing card: the lieutenant’s with the ten of hearts; the captain’s, the jack of hearts. The message seems clear—if the murderer isn’t apprehended, the higher ranks will be next. As the invasion at Anzio begins, Billy needs to keep a cool head amidst fear and terror as the killer calculates his next moves. “Captivating … Benn does a superb job of simultaneously capturing the personal anguish of war and creating a splendid adventure novel.”—Library Journal, starred review"

James R. Benn (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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The Phantom Patrol

"Winter 1944: Months after the Liberation of France, ex-Boston cop Billy Boyle finds himself in a Paris reeling from the carnage it has endured but hopeful that an end to war is in sight. When Billy finds a rare piece of artwork after a tense shoot out in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, he thinks it could be connected to the Syndicat du Renard, a shadowy network of Nazi sympathizers known to be smuggling stolen artwork out of France. Trailing the Syndicat, Billy discovers that someone with a high level of communications clearance—someone in the Phantom regiment of the British Army—may be using his position to aid the thieves. Billy, determined to stop the abettor, heads up to the frontlines where he experiences a last-ditch battle against overwhelming odds. There, the ruinous Battle of the Bulge unfurls in the Ardennes Forest. Can Billy and his team survive the bracing onslaught and return the stolen artwork to its rightful protectors? “A fascinating and complex tale of stolen art and the heroes who are determined to get it back that really is quite extraordinary. Set during the infamous Battle of the Bulge, Benn’s newest Billy Boyle mystery is a masterful blend of history and heart.”—Karen Donne, author of the #1 international bestseller The Marsh King's Daughter"

James R. Benn (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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The Refusal Camp: Stories

"In his first-ever collection, the award-winning author of the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries presents an eclectic mix of new and previously published mystery stories rife with historical detail and riveting wartime storytelling. “The Horse Chestnut Tree” explores betrayal and murder during the American Revolution. In the speculative work “Glass,” an atomic supercollider and the breakdown of the time-space continuum change the lives of two cousins devoured by greed. “Vengeance Weapon,” a historical thriller about an enslaved Jewish laborer working at the Dora concentration camp, looks at how far someone will go to get revenge. And for his Billy Boyle fans, Benn delivers “Irish Tommy,” a police procedural set in 1944 Boston featuring Billy’s father and uncle.Full of terror, action, amusement, and bliss, The Refusal Camp is a must-have collection from a crime fiction veteran at the height of his career."

James R. Benn (Author), James Shippy, Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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From the Shadows

"Southern France, 1944: What should be a simple assignment with a Special Operations Executive officer gets complicated quickly as Billy navigates the tensions between Resistance groups in the process of gathering information on Vichy officials and other collaborators who escaped with the retreating Germans. Unexpectedly, the SOE officer has many enemies in the Resistance, linked to the failed Vercors uprising. Diana Seaton, Billy’s wartime lover, crosses paths with him as she and legendary SOE agent Christine Granville embark on a humanitarian mission on behalf of those killed while helping the SOE. The search for a witness to a deadly explosion leads Billy to the legendary 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a unit made up of Nisei soldiers that became the most highly decorated unit in the history of the US Army. With sacrifice and betrayal afoot, Billy doesn’t know who he can trust, or how close to death this case may bring him."

James R. Benn (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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The Red Horse

"Just days after the Liberation of Paris, U.S. Army detective Billy Boyle and Lieutenant Kazimierz are brought to Saint Albans Convalescent Hospital in the English countryside. Kaz has been diagnosed with a heart condition, and Billy is dealing with emotional exhaustion and his recent methamphetamine abuse. Meanwhile, Billy’s love, Diana Seaton, has been taken to Ravensbrück, the Nazi concentration camp for women, and Kaz’s sister, Angelika, who he recently learned was alive and working with the Polish Underground, has also been captured and transported to the same camp. This news is brought by British Major Cosgrove, whose asks Billy for help, unofficially, in solving what he thinks was the murder of a British agent recuperating at Saint Albans. The convalescent hospital is really a secret installation for those in the world of clandestine warfare to recover from wounds, physical and emotional. Some are allowed to leave; others are deemed security risks and are detained there. When a second body is found, it is evident that a killer is at work in this high-security enclave. Now Billy must carry out his covert investigation while maintaining his tenuous recovery, shielding his actions from suspicious hospital authorities, and dodging the unknown murderer."

James R. Benn (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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Solemn Graves

"A double murder in a French chateau just after D-Day threatens Allied operations, and US Army detective Billy Boyle is called to investigate. July, 1944, a full month after D-Day. Billy, Kaz, and Big Mike are assigned to investigate a double murder, close to the front lines in Normandy. An American officer and a member of the French Resistance were found dead in a manor house outside the town of Trevieres. The investigation is shrouded in secrecy, due to the highly confidential nature of the American unit headquartered at the Manoir de Castilly; the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. This vague name covered a 1,000-man unit with a unique mission within the US Army: to impersonate other US Army units in order to deceive the enemy, causing them to think they were facing large formations, when in reality it was the 23rd (they called themselves The Ghost Army) creating deceptions by radio traffic, dummy inflatable vehicles, and sound effects. Not even the units adjacent to their positions were to know what they were doing. The balance of power in WWII hangs in the balance-can Billy solve the crime before the Ghost Army is exposed?"

James R. Benn (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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The Usual Santas: A Collection of Soho Crime Christmas Capers

"Eighteen delightful holiday stories by a colorful lineup of your favorite Soho Crime authors This captivating collection, which features bestselling and award-winning authors, contains laughs aplenty, the most hardboiled of holiday noir, and heartwarming reminders of the spirit of the season. Nine mall Santas must find the imposter among them. An elderly lady seeks peace from her murderously loud neighbors at Christmastime. A young woman receives a mysterious invitation to Christmas dinner with a stranger. Niccolò Machiavelli sets out to save an Italian city. Sherlock Holmes’s one-time nemesis Irene Adler finds herself in an unexpected tangle in Paris while on a routine espionage assignment. Jane Austen searches for the Dowager Duchess of Wilborough’s stolen diamonds. These and other adventures in this delectable volume will whisk readers away to Christmases around the globe, from a Korean War POW camp to a Copenhagen refugee squat, from a palatial hotel in 1920s Bombay to a crumbling mansion in Havana."

Agnete Friis, Cara Black, Colin Cotterill, Ed Lin, Gary Corby, Helene Tursten, Henry Chang, James R. Benn, Lene Kaaberbøl, Martin Limon, Mette Ivie Harrison, Mick Herron, Peter Lovesey, Stephanie Barron, Stuart Neville, Sujata Massey, Timothy Hallinan, Tod Goldberg (Author), Ali Ahn, Barbara Caruso, Brian Hutchison, Carine Montbertrand, Elizabeth Sastre, John Keating, Jonathan Yen, Luis Moreno (Narrator)

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The Devouring

"A murder in wartime Switzerland reveals Swiss complicity with the Nazis and profiteering during World War II Billy and Kaz are sent to neutral Switzerland to investigate the murder of a Swiss banking official with ties to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The US and Swiss governments are about to embark on diplomatic discussions regarding the Safehaven Protocols, which are aimed at limiting the amount of war materials exported by Switzerland to the Nazis, halting the laundering of looted gold, and preventing the postwar use of Nazi wealth for war criminals. With the talks about to begin, the OSS wants their involvement in the murder cleared up, as well as to protect the participants from any threat of violence. The plans go wrong from the beginning when Billy and Kaz crash-land in France. As they make their way through occupied territory to the border, they meet Anton Lasho, a member of the Sinti ethnic group, whose family was slaughtered by the Nazis, and who is, in turn, a one-man Nazi-killing machine. They'll need his help, because as they find once they make it across the border, Swiss banks are openly laundering gold 'harvested' from concentration camps, and those that are profiting will do everything they can to protect their wealth and hide their dark secrets."

James R. Benn (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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Blue Madonna

"Billy Boyle, US Army detective and ex-Boston cop, faces his toughest investigation yet: infiltrating enemy lines in France as the Allies invade Normandy. It's late May 1944. Captain Billy Boyle is court-martialed on spurious charges of black market dealings. Stripped of his officer's rank, reduced to private, and sentenced to three months' hard labor, Boyle is given an opportunity: he can avoid his punishment if he goes behind enemy lines to rescue a high-value Allied soldier. A secret chamber and tunnels, once used by escaping Huguenots in the 17th century, has since been taken over by the Allies. But this 'safe house' on the outskirts of Chaumont turns out to be anything but. Two downed airmen, one Canadian and the other American, have been murdered. Billy is flown in as part of a three-man team on June 5, 1944, the night before the Normandy invasion. Billy must solve the mystery of who is behind the murders, then lead a group escape from France back to England, with both the Germans and a killer hot on their heels."

James R. Benn (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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The White Ghost

"The tenth book in James R. Benn's Billy Boyle WWII mystery series, normally set against a backdrop of WWII Europe, moves us to a flashback in the Pacific. 1943: Amidst the bitter, violent Solomon Islands campaign, Billy is assigned the murder investigation of a native coastwatcher, whom future president Jack Kennedy discovered on a nearby island with his head bashed in. As the body count climbs, Billy must figure out whether Jack is a cold-blooded killer, even as war rages around him. A fan-favorite series with built-in readership of historical fiction fans and military history buffs, by one of Soho Crime's bestselling authors. Billy Boyle, the first in this series, continues to sell strongly since its 2013 reissue. Benn consistently does very successful national and local events for his book launches. Praise for the Billy Boyle series 'Spirited wartime storytelling.' --The New York Times Book Review 'A fast-paced saga set in a period when the fate of civilization still hangs in the balance.' --The Wall Street Journal 'Consistently entertaining.' --WWII Magazine 'Terrific . . . Razor sharp.' --Joseph Finder 'Full of action, humor and heart.' --Louise Penny James R. Benn is the author of the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries. The debut, Billy Boyle, was named one of the top five mysteries of 2006 by Book Sense and was a Dilys Award nominee. Subsequent books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, and been listed as the BookageMystery of the Month. Two have been tagged as a 'Killer Book' by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. A librarian for many years, Benn lives in Hadlyme, Connecticut, with his wife, Deborah Mandel. Marketing and Publicity National media campaign targeting crime & mystery reviewers; historical fiction reviewers. Inclusion in all Soho Crime Fall 2015 trade-facing advertising campaigns. Featured galley at ALA Annual and BEA 2015."

James R. Benn (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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The Rest Is Silence: A Billy Boyle World War II Mystery

"When an unidentified corpse washes ashore at Slapton Sands on England's southern coast, US Army captain Billy Boyle and his partner, Lieutenant Piotr 'Kaz' Kazimierz, are assigned to investigate. The Devonshire beach is the home to Operation Tiger, the top secret rehearsal for the approaching D-day invasion of Normandy, and the area is restricted; no one seems to know where the corpse could have come from. Luckily, Billy and Kaz have a comfortable place to lay their heads at the end of the day: Kaz's old school chum David lives close by and has agreed to host the two men during their investigation. Glad for a distraction from his duties, Billy settles into life at the family's manor, Ashcroft, and makes it his mission to get to know its intriguing cast of characters. Just when Billy and Kaz begin to wrap up their case, they find themselves with not one soggy corpse on their hands but hundreds following a terrible tragedy during the D-day rehearsal. To complicate things, life at Ashcroft has been getting tense: secret agendas, buried histories, and family grudges abound. Then one of the men meets a sudden demise. Was it a heart attack—or something more sinister?"

James R. Benn (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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A Blind Goddess: A Billy Boyle World War II Mystery

"March, 1944. US Army lieutenant Billy Boyle, back in England after a dangerous mission in Italy, is due for a little R&R—and a promotion. But the now-Captain Boyle doesn't get to kick back and enjoy his leisure time because two upsetting cases fall into his lap at once. The first is a personal request from an estranged friend: Sergeant Eugene 'Tree' Jackson, who grew up with Billy in Boston, is part of the 617th Tank Destroyers, the battalion poised to make history by being the US Army's first combatant all–African American company. But making history isn't easy, and the 617th faces racism at every turn. One of Tree's men, a gunner named Angry Smith, has been arrested for a crime he almost certainly didn't commit and faces the gallows if the real killer isn't found. Tree knows US top brass won't care about justice in this instance and asks Billy if he'll look into it. But Billy can't use any of his leave to investigate because British intelligence agent Major Cosgrove puts him on a bizarre and delicate case. A British accountant has been murdered in an English village, and he may or may not have had some connection with the US Army—Billy doesn't know because Cosgrove won't tell him. Billy is supposed to go to the village and investigate the murder, but everything seems fishy—he's not allowed to interrogate certain key witnesses, and his friends and helpers keep being whisked away. Billy wonders whether Cosgrove even wants him to solve the murder. The good news is the mysterious murder gives Billy an excuse to spend time in and around the village where Tree and his unit are stationed. If he's lucky, maybe he can get to the bottom of both mysteries and save more than one innocent life."

James R. Benn (Author), Peter Berkrot (Narrator)

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