Evil for Evil

by James R. Benn

Book Overview

Fifty BARs have been stolen from a US army base in Northern Ireland. Billy Boyle is sent by his uncle Ike Eisenhower to recover the weapons which might be used in a German-sponsored IRA uprising. Bodies begin to accumulate as Billy's Boston-Irish upbringing and IRA sympathies are unexpectedly challenged. As he is about to learn, there are rogues on both sides.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569475938
• ISBN13: 9781569475935
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Soho Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.9" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Watch out W.E.B. Griffith !

The history is first rate and the storytelling makes for a very enjoyable experience. If you have any interest in WWII and enjoy murder mysteries, this is the series for you.

General Ike's Top Cop!

Do you enjoy mysteries? Do you enjoy novels about World War 2? So if you have not discovered the writing of James R. Benn you should look for him. Benn has created a character by the name of Billy Boyle, who is a former Boston cop, a nephew to General Eisenhower and a lieutenant serving in the War. Benn has written four novels, so far, describing the adventures as Uncle Ike's special investigator. The first one took place in London, the second in North Africa following the invasion and the third in Sicily. The most recent is EVIL FOR EVIL that chronicles Boyle's efforts to solve the mystery of weapons and munitions taken from a U.S. Army camp in Northern Ireland. Being a Irish Catholic from Boston, Boyle struggles with his heritage and "truths" that he was taught as a child and an adult, with the realities that he finds on the ground in Northern Ireland as he attempts to solve the mystery as well as understanding the relationships between the Irish Catholics and Protestants and the British. In this mystery Benn exhibits the same talents that he has shown in the previous three novels. He has the ability to incorporate his obviously vast knowledge of the facts and happenings of World War 2 with the actual taste, feel and realities of the local environment---be it London, North Africa, Sicily or Northern Ireland. This resulting combination produces novels that are not only exciting but extremely realistic, entertaining and enjoyable. So if you have not yet discovered this series, I would suggest that you might begin with EVIL FOR EVIL and Billy Boyle's Northern Ireland mystery. But I would highly recommend that you go back and seek out the his first three adventures----BILLY BOYLE, FIRST WAVE and BLOOD ALONE. They are all worth your effort and time. And I cannot wait until Billy Boyle goes into action in his next adventure!

I hope the war drags on...

Like other reviewers, I have read all of the Billy Boyle mysteries, and I look forward to the next with anticipation. "Evil for Evil" has the most complex plot of the series so far, and enough characters and conflicting loyalties that I almost had to make myself a cheat sheet. The author juggles the characters, the plot, the dialogue, the action scenes, seemingly effortlessly. Others have described the story in detail, so I'll be brief. It is 1943, and Billy Boyle, former South Boston cop, Army lieutenant, and special investigator to General Eisenhower, is sent to Ireland to investigate the theft of a shipment of heavy guns. The Allies are concerned that the stolen guns will somehow be used to try to create enough chaos in Ireland (between Ulster and independent Eire) to hamper the war effort and siphon off troops from the European theater. Billy is a wonderful character - Benn manages to convey his youth and generally sunny disposition in his thoughts. From book to book we see him maturing but still maintaining his informality and using his brains. In "Evil for Evil" he is forced for the first time to weigh the loyalties he was taught from infancy by his Irish Catholic family against the reality of life in Protestant Ulster, and to work with British police, the British army, and British spies to fulfill his mission. The contrast between the romanticised Ireland cherished by American descendants of Irish immigrants and the actual Ireland torn apart by decades of guerilla warfare becomes obvious. Who are the "good guys" and who are the "bad guys" in this story? Every character has suffered heartbreak and injustice inflicted by the "other side". Each has reached his or her own conclusion of how to deal with it, and their actions intertwine to build the story. For other readers of the series, there is very little of Diana, and no sighting of Kaz, so we will just have to keep waiting for them.

Another Great Read from Benn!

I have read all four Billy Boyle WW-II Mysteries and I highly reccomend them all to anyone that enjoys reading historical mystery. In Evil For Evil Mr. Benn continues his tradition of giving each page the authentic feel of the WW-II Era with believable characters and superb atmospheric locations. I like to read his books slowly so I can savor each page. In Evil For Evil, Billy Boyle and the entire cast of characters as well as the story line and ending will leave you satisfied and counting the days until book number five is published. I'm sure Billy's Uncle Ike will send him on another superb adventure!

Evil for Evil

I've read all the titles in this great series, and Evil for Evil might be James Benn's best yet in the Billy Boyle books. If you like mysteries with just the right touch of action, skillfully crafted, you'll love Benn's books. Evil for Evil combines the familiar World War II backdrop of previous Billy Boyle adventures with the complex tensions of a divided Ireland. A former Boston cop now working for General Ike, Billy Boyle has never faced a dilemma like this one: enemies abound, from Nazi commandos to crooked policemen to mysterious beautiful women, all confounding his efforts to find 50 stolen Browning Automatic Rifles. One strange twist after another keeps the action popping, but this is more than an action novel. Benn's Boyle books are true mysteries that keep the reader guessing right to the story's conclusion. I'm hooked on this series and can't wait to see what Billy gets into next.