Just days after the Liberation of Paris, Billy and Kaz 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 Ravensbruck, 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 Ravensbruck.
This news is brought by (retired) 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 kept in virtual imprisonment. When a second body is found, it is evident that a killer has found his or her way into this high-security enclave.
About the Author
James R. Benn is the author of the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries. The debut, Billy Boyle, was named one of five top mysteries of 2006 by Book Sense and was a Dilys Award nominee, A Blind Goddess was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, The Rest Is Silence was a Barry Award nominee, and The Devouring was a Macavity Award nominee. Benn, a former librarian, splits his time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and Connecticut with his wife, Deborah Mandel.
Industry Reviews
Billy Boyle has been to some awesome places in James R. Benn's adventurous World War II series. The U.S. Army detective was even a player at the liberation of Paris, where things went badly wrong for him. The Red Horse, which speaks to the dark side of heroism, finds Billy recuperating from that traumatic ordeal (along with a slight meth habit) at the Saint Albans Pauper Lunatic Asylum, now a convalescent hospital in the English countryside for members of the military . . . As historical detective series go, this one is extremely well tended by an author who clearly dotes on his hero. As do we.
Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times
A fond echo of Agatha Christie or Alfred Hitchcock . . . As always, Benn's research into this largely forgottenor even unknownaspect of the war is comprehensive and evocatively detailed. And the real-time damage done to all the characters, who are now almost five years into the conflict, establishes the sort of emotional connection and tension for readers that adds to Benn's virtuosity with the mystery template.
The Day
As is always the case with Benn's books, the painstaking research is evident, the story crackles with life, and the overlay of fictional characters onto very real historical events is seamless. If you are new to the series, welcome; there are 14 more to keep you busy after you finish this one.
BookPage
This is high octane suspense. What starts in a sanatorium leads to a desperately dangerous race to find a killer . . . chilling echoes of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Prisoner reverberate in every twist and turn of Billy Boyle's life or death mission . . . With consummate skill, Benn weaves a compelling variation on a locked-room mystery into a detail-rich novel whose high level of tension never lets up.
Open Letters Review
What starts in a sanatorium leads to a high-stakes, dangerous race to find a
killer and avert a crisis in the fight against Hitler . . . Chilling echoes of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Prisoner reverberate in every twist and turn of Billy Boyle's life-or-death mission to unmask a plot in the thick of WWII.
Tom Straw, seven-time New York Times bestselling author writing as Richard Castle
Superlative . . . Benn maintains a high level of tension throughout, and his admirable but flawed lead will engage even first-time readers. This fair-play whodunit stands comparison with the best classic mysteries.
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
