Former Lyme Resident James R. Benn Releases 20th Billy Boyle Mystery Sept. 23

By Elizabeth Regan

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Arts

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September 23, 2025

The latest Billy Boyle World War II mystery by former Lyme resident James R. Benn hits the shelves Sept. 23.

“A Bitter Wind,” published by Soho Press, marks the 20th release in the series about an Irish-American cop from Boston who helps his “uncle” Ike Eisenhower in sensitive WWII military investigations in overseas Europe.

The book description details Boyle’s journey from the Cliffs of Dover on Christmas Day in 1944, where he discovers the first of two dead bodies, to the wild mountains of Yugoslavia. The mystery is described by the publisher as a fascinating look into the secretive world of WWII radio espionage.

Benn lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida with wife Deborah Mandel, according to his biography on jamesrbenn.com. They have two sons and seven grandchildren

A graduate of the University of Connecticut, he went on to receive a master’s degree in library science from Southern Connecticut State University. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the Author’s Guild.

Benn worked in the library and information technology fields for over 35 years before turning to full-time writing in 2011.

James R. Benn

Readers will have the chance to learn more from the author himself at two upcoming events on the shoreline.

Oct. 7: RJ Julia Booksellers, Madison

James R. Benn in Conversation with John Valeri

6:30 pm

Click here for details.

Oct. 8: Bank Square Books, Mystic

James R. Benn in Conversation with Rick Koster

6:00 pm.Click here for details.

Author

Elizabeth Regan

Elizabeth started her journalism career in 2013 with the launch of The Salem Connect, a community news site inspired by digital trailblazers like Olwen Logan. Elizabeth’s earliest reporting included two major fires — one at a package store and another at a log cabin where she captured, on video, a state trooper fatally shooting the unarmed homeowner and suspected arsonist. The experiences gave her a crash course in public record searches, courthouse procedures and the Freedom of Information Act. She went on to report for The Bulletin, CT News Junkie, The Rivereast, and The Day, where she covered the Lymes and helped launch the Housing Solutions Lab on affordable housing. Her work has earned numerous awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists and the New England Newspaper & Press Association. Now, after more than a decade in digital, weekly, and daily journalism, she’s grateful to return to the place where it all started: an online news site dedicated to one small corner of Connecticut.