James R. Benn
Encyclopedia
James R. Benn is an American author, best known for the Billy Boyle World War II
Mystery Series
.
, New York to parents Harold Joseph and Gertrude Ross Benn and grew up in Southington, Connecticut
. After graduation from Southington High School
in 1967 Benn attended the University of Connecticut
earning a Bachelors degree. He also holds a Master of Library Science
(MLS) from Southern Connecticut State University
. From 1969 to 1971 Benn was a VISTA
volunteer.
Benn did not begin his writing career until age fifty. Prior to that he served as head of information for the West Hartford Public Schools
in West Hartford, Connecticut
. Currently, in addition to writing, James Benn is the director of the Godfrey Memorial Library, a private family history library in Middletown, Connecticut
. Benn is married to Deborah Mandel, a psychotherapist
. They have two sons and seven grandchildren.
detective Billy Boyle. He comes from a family line of cops with Irish Republican
leanings. When America enters World War Two his father and others fear he will be killed defending the hated British, as had his uncle in World War One. Calling on family connections they arrange for Billy to be assigned to the staff of a cousin's husband, a then little-known U.S. Army officer named Dwight D. Eisenhower
. "Uncle Ike", as he is called in private, is soon promoted and takes Boyle with him as a staff investigator to solve crimes that require not only professionalism but discretion. Far from the relatively safe rear area job his family back in Boston hoped for, Billy finds himself in great danger on every assignment.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Mystery Series
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
.
Personal life
James Robert Benn was born September 5, 1949 in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York to parents Harold Joseph and Gertrude Ross Benn and grew up in Southington, Connecticut
Southington, Connecticut
Southington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of Connecticut's 1st congressional district. It is situated about 20 miles southwest of Hartford, about 80 miles northeast of New York City, 105 miles southwest of Boston and 77 miles west of Providence...
. After graduation from Southington High School
Southington High School
Southington High School is a public high school located at 720 Pleasant Street in Southington, Connecticut.It is the only high school located in the town of Southington.-Academics:...
in 1967 Benn attended the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
earning a Bachelors degree. He also holds a Master of Library Science
Master of Library and Information Science
The Master of Library and Information Science is the master's degree that is required for most professional librarian positions in the United States and Canada. The MLIS is a relatively recent degree; an older and still common degree designation for librarians to acquire is the Master of Library...
(MLS) from Southern Connecticut State University
Southern Connecticut State University
Southern Connecticut State University is one of four state universities in Connecticut, and is located in the West Rock neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut...
. From 1969 to 1971 Benn was a VISTA
Volunteers in Service to America
VISTA or Volunteers in Service to America is an anti-poverty program created by Lyndon Johnson's Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 as the domestic version of the Peace Corps. Initially, the program increased employment opportunities for conscientious people who felt they could contribute tangibly to...
volunteer.
Benn did not begin his writing career until age fifty. Prior to that he served as head of information for the West Hartford Public Schools
West Hartford Public Schools
West Hartford Public Schools provides education for West Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States.- Middle schools :* Bristow Middle School* King Philip Middle School* Sedgwick Middle School- Elementary schools :* Aiken* Braeburn* Bugbee...
in West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town was incorporated in 1854. Prior to that date, the town was a parish of Hartford....
. Currently, in addition to writing, James Benn is the director of the Godfrey Memorial Library, a private family history library in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
. Benn is married to Deborah Mandel, a psychotherapist
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
. They have two sons and seven grandchildren.
Billy Boyle books
The series of six books center on fictional Boston Police DepartmentBoston Police Department
The Boston Police Department , created in 1838, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest police departments in the United States...
detective Billy Boyle. He comes from a family line of cops with Irish Republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
leanings. When America enters World War Two his father and others fear he will be killed defending the hated British, as had his uncle in World War One. Calling on family connections they arrange for Billy to be assigned to the staff of a cousin's husband, a then little-known U.S. Army officer named Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. "Uncle Ike", as he is called in private, is soon promoted and takes Boyle with him as a staff investigator to solve crimes that require not only professionalism but discretion. Far from the relatively safe rear area job his family back in Boston hoped for, Billy finds himself in great danger on every assignment.
Other characters
- Lieutenant Baron Piotr Augustus Kazimierz: Known as "Kaz", he was attending school in the United Kingdom when the Germans invaded Poland in 1939. His family all killed by the Nazi's, Kaz joins the Polish government-in-exile and is assigned to Eisenhower's staff as a translator. He quickly develops a strong friendship with Billy and can often be found at his side in times of greatest danger.
- Daphne Seaton: Assigned to the Allied staff, she becomes the love interest of Kaz as well as Billys assistant in the first investigation. She is killed, and Kaz seriously wounded, by a car bomb meant to derail an ongoing investigation.
- Diane Seaton: Billy Boyles love interest. Haunted by memories of the Dunkirk evacuation and the death of her sister Daphne, Diane joins the British SOE. A series of brutal missions behind enemy lines put not only her life in danger but her love with Boyle.
- Sam Harding: Major, later Colonel, Sam Harding is a by-the-book West Pointer who is Boyles immediate commander. As the book series progresses he proves to be not only an able leader but somone of great loyalty, willing to take risks to protect Billy, Kaz, and the others under his command.
The books
- The first novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
in the series, Billy Boyle, was published by Soho Press in 2006. Second Lieutenant Boyle and is charged with investigating a crimeCrimeCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
that endangers Allied operations in Norway and the Norwegian government-in-exile as well. Having hadly been out of Boston in his life, Billy finds himself now behind the lines in occupied Norway, bent on stopping treason and avenging the death of a friend. The novel Billy Boyle was short-listed for the Dilys AwardDilys AwardThe Dilys Award have been presented every year since 1992 by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. It is given to the mystery title of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association is an association of retail businesses...
.
- The second book in the series, The First Wave (2007), took place during the invasion of French Northwest Africa in Operation TorchOperation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
.
- The third, Blood Alone, featured an amnesiaAmnesiaAmnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
c Billy Boyle during the invasion of SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Operation HuskyAllied invasion of SicilyThe Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
. He knows he must arrange for Mafia assistance to the invasion, but doesn't remember how.
- The fourth book in the series, Evil For Evil, takes on this conflict directly as Billy Boyle is sent to Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
to investigate the theftTheftIn common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
of weaponWeaponA weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
s from an army base. The following review highlights this plot development.
"A twisting, turning plot drives Benn’s gripping fourth WWII mystery to feature Lt. Billy Boyle . . . As an Irish-American whose family is sympathetic to the Republican cause, Billy struggles to remain impartial as he investigates the various factions on both sides of the Catholic-Protestant divide. Benn offers no easy answers in this rich mix of Irish history and wartime intrigue."—Publishers WeeklyPublishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
- The fifth title in the series, Rag And Bone (September 2010) deals with the impact of the revelations concerning the Katyn Forest MassacreKatyn massacreThe Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
on the Allies, as a Soviet official is found murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
- The sixth book in the series, A Mortal Terror (September 2011) finds Allied officers in Italy not only in danger from enemy action, but from being killed by one of their own men. A serial killer is on the loose, leaving a playing card with each body. Lieutenant Boyle struggles to capture him before the killer completes his royal flush.