A Mortal Terror

Another great installment in the Billy Boyle series (detective series featuring a young Boston cop-turned-US Army Lieutenant who is sent to Europe during WWII to act as General Ike’s personal investigator). In this mystery, Billy Boyle has to find a serial killer among the troops stationed in Caserta, Italy, in the days just before the battle of Anzio. Benn tackles the idea (as presented by one of the Army doctors) that, over prolonged exposure to combat, 98% of men will develop acute symptoms of combat fatigue (or what we would call PTSD). The other 2% would be sociopaths. At this late stage in the war, as Benn depicts it, the troops are no longer fresh; they have been fighting for months, have seen comrades taken down, and (almost across the board) are suffering from what they’ve seen. This web of fatigue has become a playground for one soldier who has NOT been affected by the horrors of war, and who can now take revenge on his resentments with impunity.

The mystery components are definitely competent and interesting, but for me the book really shines in its wartime storytelling. Benn recreates the stress (and sometimes insanity) of being a soldier in a way I found completely believable and empathetic.

This is another wonderful book in the Billy Boyle World War II series by James R. Benn. This time, the group is in Italy preparing for the Allied push through Europe. In this episode, Boyle seeks a true serial killer. For each clue he gets, another man is killed. To add to the drama, Billy’s youngest brother, Danny, has now joined the Army and is in Enzio. The heartwarming reunion between Billy and his brother Danny is touching, but adds another layer of terror when the killer learns of their relationship. PTSD known as “battle fatigue” in World War II is also explored and many of the characters suffer from it. It is an exciting, suspenseful, compassionate look at World War II and the amount of detail presented is most impressive. I heartily recommend this series and this book in particular.

I’ve read all of the Billy Boyle books. They started as fun historically correct mysteries. Billy was something of a lark of a character who stumbled and bumbled his way to the write answer. The best parts were the historical. Billy has grown and matured and, quite frankly, has Mr. Benn’s writing. A MORTAL TERROR is a well-written war mystery with an excellent main character and, as always, captivating historical context.

At the outset, a lieutenant and a major are found dead in Italy. One has a ten of hearts and the other a jack of hearts on his body. The brass thinks there’s a killer on the lose running up the brass totem pole going for the royal flush. Billy gets called in and as a result of the investigation gets thrown into the invasion at Anzio.

That’s the murder mystery. The historical context is the Italian invasion in 1943-44 along with the early understandings of combat fatigue and psychopathic behavior. If that isn’t enough, you will even learn the derivation of the Margherita pizza!

This is a fine stand alone novel. If you’ve read the others you will, of course, have a better understanding of the supporting cast like Kaz, Colonel Harding, Big Mike and others.

One last point. This is war. Unlike other authors, Mr. Benn recognizes that war causes death even to those who are friends and lovers. It adds a dose of reality to real good historical crime novels.

Wow. This is the 6th book in the Billy Boyle Series set in the European Theatre during WWII. And I have to say, the best to date. And it wasn’t as if outdoing the first 5 books was any easy feat. This is a superb series, with fully fleshed out characters, wonderful plot lines, plenty of ‘whodunit’ in a setting many today might be unfamiliar with (Europe in WWII). Finish the last page and you’re left with a.) wanting more and b.) feeling like you ‘knew’ the characters (my standard for character development is ‘Do I feel like I knew the players, were they real enough to have been neighbors or friends?’) Truthfully, I hope Benn writes 20 more Boyle books. Take him back to Boston and let him return to his detective role. Take him to Korea years later. Heck, why not an older, grizzled Boyle in Vietnam? In short, I want more Boyle whenever & however we can get him. And if you’re somehow on the fence with these books, cause maybe it isn’t your normal genre or you don’t normally do any historical fiction, I would recommend you make an exception and pick up the first Boyle (see

Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery

). You will not be disappointed. Because if there is a better Murder/Mystery Author alive today, we have no idea who that person is. 5 Stars. Would go 10 if Amazon let me.

Kept on edge trying to decide who the killer was. 1st Lt. Boyle should have earned his Captain Bars for that job.

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