Author Description

Benn follows up his first World War II mystery (Billy Boyle) with another danger-filled episode and delivers a cross-genre tale that is at once spy story, soldier story, and hard-Boyled detective.-Library Journal (starred review)The period details are spot-on and Billy... continues to make a thoroughly engaging detective.-The Denver PostPart Indiana Jones derring-do and part grown-up adventure novel with spies, black marketers, loyal and dastardly French, and the reliably evil Nazis. If you like World War II historical crime novels, you'll love this one.-Mystery SceneThe First Wave is first rate.-I Love a Mystery newsletterA 'rattling good' read.-Rhys BowenA solid follow up to Benn's first novel.... [I] look forward to his next.-Robert B. ParkerWhat a great read, full of action, humor and heart.... Equal parts spy thriller, war story and murder mystery, with a dollop of romance that's never sweet, this is just a terrific book. More please!-Louise PennyCertain to appeal to WWII fiction fans.-BooklistBilly's task is to help arrange the surrender of the Vichy French forces in Algeria. But dissension among the regular army, the militia, and DeGaulle's Free French allows blackmarketeers in league with the enemy to divert medical supplies to the Casbah, leading to multiple murders. Billy must find the killers while trying to rescue the girl he loves-a British spy.