AUTHOR TALK WITH JAMES R. BENN: “ROAD OF BONES”

The Essex Library is honored to host an author talk with James R. Benn on Thursday, September 9 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Benn will discuss the latest book in his Billy Boyle WWII mystery series, “Road Of Bones”. Special guest, voice actor Peter Berkrot will read a selection from the book.

“Outstanding . . . Bolstered by vivid, scintillating descriptions of air strikes and dogfights involving the legendary all-female Soviet air force unit known as the Night Witches, Benn’s high-intensity storytelling shines. This entry will leave fans eager for the next installment.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Billy Boyle is sent to the heart of the USSR to solve a double-murder at a critical turning point in the war in this latest installment, the 16th, of the critically acclaimed Billy Boyle WWII mystery series.

It’s September 1944, and the US is poised to launch Operation Frantic, a shuttle-bombing mission to be conducted by American aircraft based in Great Britain, southern Italy, and three Soviet airfields in the Ukraine. Tensions are already high between the American and Russian allies when two intelligence agents—one Soviet, one American—are found dead at Poltava, one of the Ukrainian bases. Billy is brought in to investigate, and this time he’s paired, at the insistence of the Soviets, with a KGB agent who has his own political and personal agenda. In the course of an investigation that quickly spirals out of control, Billy is aided by the Night Witches, a daring regiment of young Soviet women flying at night at very low altitudes, bombing hundreds of German installations. It’s a turning point in the war, and allied efforts hang by a thread. Unless Billy and his KGB partner can solve the murders in an atmosphere of mutual distrust, Operation Frantic is doomed.

James R. Benn is the author of the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries. The debut, Billy Boyle, was selected as a Top Five book of the year 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.

Voice actor Peter Berkrot, narrator of all 16 Billy Boyle mysteries. A veteran of stage and screen, Berkrot’s career spans four decades. His voice can be heard on television, radio, video games, documentaries and industrials. He is a prominent acting coach and a regular contributor to the award-winning news program Frontline produced by WGBH in Boston.

Bank Square Books, the ‘official’ Billy Boyle bookstore for virtual presentations, has signed copies of Road Of Bones available for purchase online:. James Benn (Signed Copies) | Bank Square Books/Savoy Bookshop & Café

This Zoom event is FREE and open to the public.