The Devouring, James R. Benn
The Devouring, James R. Benn
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

The Devouring

Author: James R. Benn

Narrator: Peter Berkrot

Unabridged: 10 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 09/12/2017


Synopsis

Europe, 1944: Captain Billy Boyle and his friend Lieutenant Piotr “Kaz” Kazimierz are sent to neutral Switzerland to work with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), investigating Swiss banks that are laundering looted Nazi gold. The US and Swiss governments are about to embark on diplomatic discussions regarding the Safehaven Protocols, aimed at limiting the amount of war materials exported by Switzerland to the Nazis, stemming the tide of looted gold, and preventing postwar use of Nazi wealth by war criminals. With the talks about to begin and the Gestapo ever present, the OSS wants Billy and Kaz to protect the participants, which turns out to be a very deadly task. The plans go wrong from the beginning when Billy and Kaz crash-land in France. As they make their way through occupied territory to the border, they meet Anton Lasho, a member of the Sinti ethnic group, whose family was slaughtered by the Nazis, and who is, in turn, a one-man Nazi-killing machine. They’ll need his help, because as they find once they make it across the border, Swiss banks are openly laundering gold “harvested” from concentration camps, and those who are profiting will do everything they can to protect their wealth and hide their dark secrets.

About James R. Benn

James R. Benn is the author of the Billy Boyle World War II Mystery series, which includes the novels Billy Boyle, The First Wave, Blood Alone, Evil for Evil, Rag and Bone, and A Mortal Terror. A librarian for many years, he now writes full time and lives in Hadlyme, Connecticut.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Fredrick on January 07, 2020

This historical fiction novel is based on true events from World War II, such as the IBM cooperation with Nazi Germany and the Swiss banks handling of looted German gold. Captain Billy Boyle and his friend Kaz are sent to Switzerland to investigate the golld smuggling.. Readers of W.E.B. Griffin wil......more

Goodreads review by Wendy on September 04, 2021

3.5* Saw this book series recommended by the Book Cougars Podcast on IG. Luckily my public library has this audiobook. First time reading the series and I liked it. Billy Boyle is a Boston detective (and distant relative of Eisenhower) who is working for OSS in Europe during WWII. He’s a straight sh......more

Goodreads review by Tom on July 08, 2017

THE DEVOURING by James R. Benn is the 12th episode in the Billy Boyle WWII mystery series. This time Billy, along with the urbane Polish Freedom Fighter Kaz, must make it to Switzerland as part of a secret mission to stop the Nazis from hoarding gold in Swiss banks for life after the war. Mr. Benn......more

Goodreads review by Bebe (Sarah) on October 31, 2017

An absolutely stunning series that has been a longtime favorite of mine, this twelth book keeps the streak of incredible writing going. Benn is a superb researcher (a former librarian) who brings little known WWII facts and events to light in a fascinating, readable manner, while exploring the moral......more

Goodreads review by Jay on October 04, 2023

THE DEVOURING, the 12th book in author James R. Benn's Billy Boyle World War II mystery series, finds Billy and Kaz sent to Switzerland. But in wartime, the travel isn't exactly first class. After a harrowing trek simply to get there, Billy and Kaz find themselves not enjoying the crisp Alpine air,......more