Blood
Alone
A
Billy Boyle Mystery
James
R. Benn
Soho
Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-516-4 (1569475164)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-516-4 (9781569475164)
Publication Date: September 2008
List Price: $24.00
Synopsis (from the publisher): Billy Boyle awakens in a field hospital in Sicily with amnesia. In his pocket is a yellow silk handkerchief embroidered with the initial L. He must struggle to learn his identity while staying one step ahead of the shadowy figures pursuing him. Gradually he remembers: he has been sent ashore in advance of the troops with this token from Lucky Luciano to contact the head of the Sicilian Mafia. But he must also thwart a murderous band of counterfeiters of Army scrip led by Vito Genovese.
Review:
Billy Boyle awakes to find himself in a strange land on an unknown
mission and worse, not even sure of his own identity, in Blood Alone,
the third mystery in the World War II mystery series by James R. Benn.
With his head bandaged and bleeding, feeling like someone has hammered
a nail into it, and his arm blood-stained from elbow to wrist, Billy
Boyle looks around to discover he's in an army field hospital tent but
not knowing how he got there, where it is, or how badly he is wounded.
He doesn’t even know who he is. He’s dressed in a
faded green uniform, not at all like the other wounded men around him.
Plus he has no insignias or dog tags. The only thing he does have is a
gold colored silk handkerchief with the letter “L”
emblazoned on the center of it. He quickly discovers, however, that
there is something particularly important about this handkerchief and
that there are those in the hospital who want it, badly, and nothing,
not even murder, will stop them.
As Billy slowly regains his memory he remembers that he's a military
investigator and the handkerchief was a gift of American mob boss,
Salvatore "Lucky" Luciano, a top-ranking member of the Sicilian Mafia,
and that it was given to Billy as a signal of some sort. What to what
end? It must have something to do with his being in Sicily. By the time
he's released from the hospital, he knows that he must proceed to the
home of the Mafia in the Sicilian hills and along the way encounters
both German and Italian foes, enemies of a very different sort and with
means to different ends, to the success of his mission.
The Billy Boyle novels have quickly established themselves as best in
class for those seeking historical mysteries that seamlessly blend fact
with fiction, are replete with period details, incorporate an engaging,
intricate and suspenseful story, and most importantly, have as its
central character, the redoubtable Billy Boyle. The author exposes the
horror of war yet brilliantly shows the camaraderie men in the face of
danger can find. Blood Alone
is classic World War II crime fiction and readers will be anxious to
discover where Billy finds himself next.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Blood Alone and to Soho Press for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Blood Alone? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Billy
Boyle
Soho Press (Hardcover), September 2006
ISBN-10: 1-56947-433-8 (1569474338)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-433-4 (9781569474334)
The First Wave
Soho Press (Hardcover), September 2007
ISBN-10: 1-56947-471-0 (1569474710)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-471-6 (9781569474716)
Blood Alone
Soho Press (Hardcover), September 2008
ISBN-10: 1-56947-516-4 (1569475164)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-516-4 (9781569475164)
Evil
for Evil
Soho Press (Hardcover), September 2009
ISBN-10: 1-56947-593-8 (1569475938)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-593-5 (9781569475935)
Omnimystery
keywords for Blood Alone
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Location(s) referenced: Sicily.
