The 21st
appearance of Billy Boyle is scheduled for 1 September 2026. How is it possible
this series has trundled along for 21 books? A book a year consistently since
the introduction of Billy and his colleagues in 2006. With publishers dropping
outstanding authors and wonderful series right, left, and center, James Benn
continues to turn out solidly researched, strongly plotted, and beautifully
written historical crime fiction and wonder of wonders, Soho Press stands back
and lets him do it! Readers everywhere owe Soho their gratitude.
The Ninth
Circle (Soho, September 2026) is the latest outing of Billy, part of a
large Boston cop family and cousin by marriage to General Eisenhower. Only
months before Germany surrenders, Billy and his sidekick Lieutenant Piotr
Kazimierz go to Havana where ostensibly Billy is to liaison with the Cuban Army
and Piotr is a business man seeking to establish himself in the busy capital
city. Really they are to investigate the death of Lieutenant Commander Hugh
Sinclair of the Royal Navy, who was shot while outside drinking his morning
coffee. Someone is suspicious of them even with the plausible cover stories, as
within days of their arrival a bomb is set off in a bar where they are waiting
for an informant. While they escape, their informant is not so lucky, turning
their job into a double homicide investigation.
Royal Navy Lieutenant
Commander Ian Fleming, crime boss Meyer Lansky, and the Duke and Duchess of
Windsor all appear in the story, as do increasingly desperate German spies.
Fleming is anxious to capture one of the new German U-boats before the Russians
can, conscious of the respect he would earn by doing so. Lansky has established
a popular and profitable casino in Havana and has targeted Bermuda as a
potential extension of operations, even though gambling is illegal there. The
Duke was appointed governor of Bermuda during the war, where he and the Duchess
were relatively safe.
Billy ends up
working with the local thugs and Lansky himself before the homicides are
resolved. Lansky assures him that he is as committed to the Allies as anyone
and demonstrates that loyalty, even as he maneuvers to expand his gambling
empire. Billy isn’t sure if Fleming is help or hindrance at first; he turns out
to be a bit of both.
The Havana
setting and its people are vividly described with historical details worked
invisibly into the narrative. Faultless research, I always appreciate the
author’s notes at the end. Another very good entry in the series. Historical
crime fiction fans will want to add this title to their reading lists.
Recommended.
·
Publisher: Soho Crime
·
Publication date: September 1, 2026
·
Language: English
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Print length: 400 pages
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ISBN-10: 1641297484
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ISBN-13: 978-1641297486
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4gFcZDA
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night
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