Interview with Billy Boyle Author James R. Benn

Welcome everyone. Today, I am talking with bestselling author James R. Benn who writes the Billy Boyle WWII Mysteries. James is one of those really nice people out there. In fact, most all of my mystery-writing friends are pretty darned nice people. It must be that we get all our rage out by murdering people on the page. Ahem. Anyway, on my blog I truly do like to talk to mystery writers, especially those who write historical mysteries. So let’s jump right in.

JERI: You’ve been writing about WWII for quite a while now, longer than the war lasted. With your perspective, what can you comment about America today?

JAMES: We share a few too many similarities to the 1930s in my opinion; fascist tendencies, a withdrawal from world affairs, the muzzling of the free press, and rising racism. But from a writer’s perspective, what I try to take from this mix is the notion that Americans back then didn’t know how things would turn out. And neither do we. All those cheering Americans who packed Madison Square Garden for the German American Bund’s pro-Nazi rally in 1939 were marching to a different tune within a few years. Few could have envisioned Hitler’s Berlin turned into a pile of rubble six years on.

JERI: Well, if nothing else, that’s a hopeful thought. When writing my own mysteries, I like to include real people. Yes, this adds more work for me to research them and their lives, to make sure they can realistically be in my book at that time period. In a war situation, people come and go. Who have you included in your books and what did you find fascinating about them when you did your research?

JAMES: I love discovering the intersection between historical events and real people who we might not expect to be involved in the titanic struggles of WWII. Sterling Hayden, for instance, was an agent for the US Office of Strategic Services and smuggled arms across the Adriatic to partisans in Yugoslavia. I had him land Billy and Kaz behind enemy lines in Italy in Death’s Door, and he damn well almost ran away with the plot. Part of the story in The Rest is Silence takes place at Greenway House in Devon, England. That’s Agatha Christie’s home, which she donated to government use for the duration. US Navy mapmakers worked there creating charts and landing maps for the Normandy invasion, so I had a plausible reason for Billy to be there as part of an investigation. Naturally he ran into Agatha, and she helped run down some clues.

The key word here is “plausibility”. In the same book, Billy encounters Yogi Berra. Plausible, since Yogi was a crewman on a rocket-equipped landing craft preparing for D-Day, and he was stationed in the area. But I had to resist the temptation to construct a scene in which Yogi and Agatha met. It would have been fun, especially imagining what each would have made of the other. But it tipped the plausibility meter into the red zone, so I gave up.

In my current novel, The Phantom Patrol, Colonel David Niven has a sizeable role. He was hard to resist, but he was an intelligence officer on Montgomery’s staff when the Battle of the Bulge kicked off, so fair play.

When I was researching A Bitter Wind (coming in September 2025) I discovered that Jean Conan Doyle, daughter of Sir Arthur, was an intelligence officer with the RAF during the war. Plus, she commanded a unit specializing in radio intercepts, which fit perfectly within the plot. Plausible? I’d say mandatory!

JERI: That’s so awesome. I love David Niven! It’s so fun to mention real people—actors and authors–who were so heroic, stepped up to the plate. May I add actor Reginald Denny to your list. He invented drones!

I always say, that writing an historical story is like a fantasy novel in many ways; it also involves a lot of world-building. Readers may think they know an era, but do they? So you have to lay that foundation for the casual reader who doesn’t know well the period you’re writing about, and, conversely, you’d better be able to satisfy those readers who do know the period well, or they will tell you everything you got wrong! Any time period is fascinating, but what were the ups and downs of writing recent history, and with something so complicated as a war as the backdrop?

JAMES: It’s tricky, as you know. One thing I have going for me is the somewhat naïve character of Billy Boyle (less so now than at the start of the war, but he’s still a wide-eyed Yank at heart) who often encounters surprising things. Which means the reader gets to discover the background along with Billy. Such things are often explained by the far more sophisticated and urbane Lieutenant (Baron) Piotr Kazimierz, his Oxford-educated partner. Kaz will spend off-duty hours reading intelligence reports. Billy prefers mysteries, often by Rex Stout.

JERI: I’ve only recently—in the last few years—delved into what I consider the more recent past (the Victorian era). Well, it’s closer to our current time. Much closer than medieval or Tudor time periods, which I also write about. What I love about the current research is that now, finally, I can go to photographs, newspapers, and journals of the era. What tidbits have you found while researching? Were you able to reach out to family members for some interesting trivia?

JAMES: While there’s a touch of my Irish American father in Billy Boyle, personal stories have come from friends who have family members who served in the war. I’ve been asked to interview vets who have never spoken about the war before. In each case they were willing to talk in order to help me. It may have been a way to speak about what they went through without directly speaking to their loved ones. I’ve come away with stories about the fighting in Italy, Guadalcanal, France, and Germany. Those experiences helped ground the narrative in reality.

JERI: I’ve heard that about folks who served. They can’t talk to their own family about it, but indirectly is easier. Your main character, Billy Boyle, is an Irish/Bostonian and a detective in the police department there. And when he joins the war, his family is concerned that he’ll be killed defending the British (longtime enemies of the Irish in Great Britain). So they pull strings and get him attached to American forces who investigate crimes. Who is Billy to you? And why WWII?

JAMES: Last question first; growing up, every kid on my street had a dad who’d been in the war. It was the background to everyday life. Also, I thought I knew a lot about the war. As soon as I started writing, I found out how silly that notion was. I am still learning.

As far as Billy goes, his Irish background is based on my dad, who explained to me as a young boy why I should never wear orange. Some of Billy is me, especially when he makes a wiseass remark. The only difference is he tosses it off quickly while I worked hard at writing it!

But most importantly, Billy is an observer working for the reader. With his connection to the high command, he can be sent anywhere and see everything. He witnesses for us, keeping the connection to our past and history as vivid as I can make it.

JERI: Historical accuracy is important to authors like us. It’s painful, sometimes. Sometimes plots have to change if it can’t match the history. Have you struggled with this?

 JAMES: It’s work, but not a struggle. The historical timeline takes precedence, and all else follows. The plot has to be folded in between the interstices of historical events. That’s the sweet spot for me, and where Billy does his best work.

JERI: Indeed. Tell us about PHANTOM PATROL.

JAMES: I’d been anticipating writing about the Battle of the Bulge, and I decided to center this story around the theft of artworks in France and a related killing of a

Counter-Intelligence Corps agent. That allowed me to bring in the Monuments Men and Rose Valland, a courageous Frenchwoman who saved many looted artworks. This investigation draws Billy close to the front lines during the opening salvos of German offensive. I wanted to show how disorienting it was for the frontline soldier. From our comfortable perspective, we know what happened and how it turned out. But what I wanted to show was the up-close war, where GIs only knew that hell was breaking loose right in front of them. No big picture for those guys.

I mentioned David Niven, and in addition to Niv (what great company he was!) we also have J.D. Salinger along for the ride; he was a CIC agent with an infantry division and saw the war from Normandy to Germany. Knowing that provides a depth of appreciation for his works. Unlike Niv, who always traveled with a supply of good brandy, J.D. was a quiet writer with a few chapters of The Catcher in the Rye stuffed in his haversack.

JERI: I understand that Soho Press is releasing a special edition this August to mark 20 years of Billy Boyle. That’s very cool and quite an achievement. Tell us about this book, A BITTER WIND. I’m fascinated that it includes Jean Conan Doyle, daughter of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes oeuvre. You’ve piqued my interest (naturally enough with my own Sherlockian series). Do tell.

JAMES: It was impossible to resist having her as a character. She headed a unit of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force specializing in radio intercept work. It was formed of German speakers, many of whom were Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria. As well as recording transmissions, they spoofed German night-fighters, ordering them away from bombers heading for targets by using their native language skills. It’s a fairly unknown story, and I was glad to be able to explore it. Billy comes on the scene as he and his lady love, Diana Seaton, are taking a Christmas Day walk along the Cliffs of Dover and discover a murdered officer from a nearby secret airbase.

 I am excited about the special edition of BILLY BOYLE, coming in August. It will feature some new material, a foreword by me and an introduction by the terrific Deanna Raybourn.

JERI: What’s next for you?

JAMES: Billy and I are enjoying his visit to Cuba, where he and Kaz are hunting

Nazi spies in the company of Royal Navy Commander Ian Fleming. It’s fun inserting anticipatory pre-Bondian moments into the narrative. Little known fact: it was Kaz who impressed Fleming with the Walther PPK pistol (Bond’s own weapon), slim enough to be carried and not ruin the drape of his suit. 

JERI: Thanks so much for stopping by the blog, James. If you are a WWII aficionado, these books are for you, with a mystery as part of the bargain. Highly recommended. Your books are everywhere, but readers can find you on your website at jamesrbenn.com

James: Jeri, thanks for inviting me to this party – it’s great chatting with you!