Blood Alone

June 23, 2008
Characterization and atmosphere carry Benn's third WWII mystery (after 2007's The First Wave
), a convincing blend of fact and fiction. As part of the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, Billy Boyle, a freewheeling Boston cop in civilian life now working as special investigator for General Eisenhower, bears a message from the real-life Lucky Luciano to the head of the Sicilian Mafia asking that he order local soldiers to stop fighting American troops. Unfortunately, the chaos of warfare interferes with Billy's mission, as does another mobster out to exploit the situation for money who plots to have Billy killed—while Billy is wounded and suffering from amnesia. The hero's gradual rediscovery of his memories lets him question what kind of person he is, in particular whether he's more than a brutal killer. Benn also does a fine job of depicting a dusty, poverty-stricken Sicily, where warm loyalty is the reverse side of pitiless vendetta.

August 1, 2008
Benn continues to create fascinating behind-the-lines mysteries from little-known facets of World War II history. This time its the curious fact that, before the invasion of Sicily, the Allied High Command asked various U.S. Mafia chieftains, including Lucky Luciano, to intercede with their Sicilian counterparts to help convince Italian soldiers to switch sides, away from Germany and Mussolini. Benns series star, Billy Boyle, special investigator attached to Eisenhowers staff, is charged with brokering the deal; he lands in Sicily, but before he can make contact with the capo, he is wounded, loses his memory, and soon finds himself in the middle of a Mob-led embezzlement scam. Previous episodes in the series (The First Wave, 2007) have used similar premises, but this time Benn combines the mystery element with a fair amount of frontline battle scenes. The combination makes for a fast-paced mix of action, adventure, and crime solvingand has the added benefit of reducing the space available for Billys romantic life (Benns decided weak point). Historical detail about theSicily campaign will grab WWII buffs. A solid series that keeps getting better.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)