A Mortal Terror

By: James R. Benn

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Two officers from the American troops stationed in Caserta, Italy, not far from Naples, have been found murdered. The MOs are completely different, and it seems like the officers had no connection to each other, but one frightening fact links the murders: each body was discovered with a single playing card: the Lieutenant, the 10 of hearts; the Captain, the jack of hearts. The message seems to be clear: If the murderer isn't apprehended, the higher ranks will be next.

Billy is sent to Italy for the investigation, which grows increasingly sinister. But he has other things on his mind, too. His girlfriend, Diana, is on a very dangerous spy mission, and Billy doesn't know when - or if - he'll see her again. To make matters worse, Billy's just learned that his baby brother, Danny, is being sent over to Europe as an infantry replacement, an incredibly dangerous assignment. And all around him, he sees GIs suffering from combat fatigue preparing for another battle. As the invasion at Anzio begins, Billy needs to keep a cool head amidst fear and terror as the killer calculates his next moves.

©2011 James R. Benn (P)2011 AudioGO

Learn what terms mean before you read them.

I am a huge fan of James Benn and the Billy Boyle mysteries. I listened to this performance and had a hard time getting past the narrator's inability to properly use terms of the era. In addition, they weren't very skilled with their use of accents for the characters from various other countries.

Great book; narration less so, but gets better!

The narration gets better in the last third of the book, but it’s hard to get used to. Especially after listening to Benn’s first few books, which are narrated by another voice actor who did an outstanding job, especially with Billy. The book is excellent as usual, however, and I will give the new narrator a second chance. UPDATE: The narrator gets better and better with subsequent books. His English accents—especially for any English women—could use some work, but overall he has really embodied Billy, Kaz, Big Mike, etc. You can tell he enjoys voicing Billy and that makes the listening and the telling of the story even more enjoyable.

A compelling WWII murder mystery

I am just loving the audible versions of James R. Benn's Billy Boyle series. The author is great, and really imbues the spirit of what I call Billy Boyl's optimistic cynicism. He's optimistic about doing the right thing but occasionally cynical about the bureaucracy of war.
These books have a great cast of characters and are well researched bringing an extra level of insight (and sometimes tragedy) to the drama. Even though there's a whole series of books, you don't have to start with the first book. In fact, a Mortal Terror has a faster pace than some of the other books since its set at the frontlines of Italy where several related murders take place.
Benn has written the most compelling battle scenes I've read. He also delves into topics around Italy's fascist past, post-traumatic stress disorder (then known as shell-shock) of front-line troops and how some soldiers never learned to cope. It is a helluva story, wrapped up in a mystery that keeps you guessing
Mr. Benn is one of the greatest WWII writers out there. If this is a genre that interests you, take the plunge.
You will thank me later.

Less the the previous books

I too had a hard time with all the American characters suddenly having Southern accents. The story is also not as good as the previous book. The ending was very interesting, but disappointing to me.

storyline was what I expected

the narrator should learn how to read. British intelligence is not m 15 but MI 5. I can understand one of my kids making this mistake the oldest one is only 5, but when your paid to read a book ya should at least be able to read.

A good story, however...

Mr Benn loses one star for his frequent use of profane expletives. Such language adds nothing to the story. Would Mr Benn appreciate it if people asked him to damn everything? Would it not hurt him to have people use his name as a curse? 😕

Changing narrators is not a good thing

What disappointed you about A Mortal Terror?

It's the Boyle series I know and love, but Billy has changed. There's a new narrator and I really think the audio book suffers for it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Peter Berkrot?

Mark Vietor is Billy Boyle. That's the only person who should narrate this book. From the Boston accent to the Southie attitude. He had it and made the Benn books come alive.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I'm well into the book but only through sheer force of will. I find myself uninspired to continue to listen.

this is an okay entry in the series

it's an interesting look at anzio and historical implications of it with World war II. I felt there was a regression in the character development of Billy Boyle after his last book situated in Ireland. when we left that character he was very much a sober adult mature and moving in a good direction. in this book it was almost like a regression of those personality traits to where he was in the first book, it was disappointing the same with the other characters in the book. that may have to do with the audio performance. it was not good where the previous books the actor by the name of Mark Vector gave the performance he was able to very much differentiate the characters with his voice and the character development. you could very easily tell boil was from Boston and the British were British in the Polish were Polish ... it was almost like somebody was reading in one voice for the entire performance so you had to be very carefully listening so you can follow the characters. After the earlier performances it was very disappointing and really might have affected my whole appreciation for the book.

A Mortal Terror

James R. Benn hits another homerun with this Billy Boyle WW2 mystery. l love the new narrator- more authentic voice for a scrappy Boston cop solving mysteries in Europe.

Different Narrator

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The narrator changed. While he may be very good I was confused. The charecters that I knew didn't sound the same. I couldn't follow the story because of this. I didn't listen to more than 2-3 chapters.

What was most disappointing about James R. Benn’s story?

I didn't follow the story because Billy Boyle wasn't the same.

How could the performance have been better?

Keep the original narrator.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

No. I couldn't follow the story and didn't finish the book.