
Blue Madonna
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $21.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Peter Berkrot
-
By:
-
James R. Benn
About this listen
Billy Boyle, US Army detective and ex-Boston cop, faces his toughest investigation yet: infiltrating enemy lines in France as the Allies invade Normandy.
It's late May 1944. Captain Billy Boyle is court-martialed on spurious charges of black-market dealings. Stripped of his officer's rank, reduced to private, and sentenced to three months' hard labor, Boyle is given an opportunity: He can avoid his punishment if he goes behind enemy lines to rescue a high-value Allied soldier.
A secret chamber and tunnels once used by escaping Huguenots in the 17th century has since been taken over by the Allies. But this "safe house" on the outskirts of Chaumont turns out to be anything but. Two downed airmen, one Canadian and the other American, have been murdered. Billy is flown in as part of a three-man team on June 5, 1944, the night before the Normandy invasion. Billy must solve the mystery of who is behind the murders, then lead a group escape from France back to England, with both the Germans and a killer hot on their heels.
©2016 James R. Benn (P)2016 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
Billy Boyle
- A World War II Mystery
- By: James R. Benn
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What's a 22-year-old Irish American cop who's never been out of Massachusetts before doing at Beardsley Hall, an English country house, having lunch with King Haakon of Norway? Billy Boyle himself wonders. Back home in Southie, hed barely made detective when war was declared. Unwilling to fight and perhaps die for England, he was relieved when his mother wangled a job for him on the staff of a general married to her distant cousin.
-
-
"boys own " adventure with wider appeal
- By connie on 02-19-12
By: James R. Benn
-
On Desperate Ground
- A Novel
- By: James R. Benn
- Narrated by: Barry Press
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The thrilling story of men and women caught up in the death throes of Nazi Germany, struggling to maintain those things precious to them - life, an end to killing, and even sanity itself. Colonel Johann Faust has lost everyone he ever loved and feels he is going inexorably insane. He hears the haunting voice of his dead fiancée and the demons that roar through his mind as he perfects a plan to save Nazi Germany from defeat and insure a greater and deadlier new world war.
-
-
captured the time
- By Kindle Customer on 06-01-14
By: James R. Benn
-
Prince of Spies
- The Richard Prince Thrillers, Book 1
- By: Alex Gerlis
- Narrated by: Rupert Bush
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1942: a German spy comes ashore on a desolate stretch of Lincolnshire beach. But he is hunted down by a young detective, Richard Prince. The secret services have need of a man like him.... In occupied Europe, Denmark is a hotbed of problems for British intelligence. Rumours of a war-ending weapon being developed by the Germans are rife. Sent to Copenhagen, Prince is soon caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Dodging Gestapo agents, SS muscle and the danger of betrayal, his survival - and the war effort - hangs in the balance.
-
-
Ending?
- By T Smith on 02-24-21
By: Alex Gerlis
-
The House in the Woods
- Atticus Priest, Book 1
- By: Mark Dawson
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Christmas Eve, DCI Mackenzie Jones is called to a shooting at a remote farmhouse. Ralph Mallender believes his father lies dead inside. When three more bodies are discovered, it's clear a festive family gathering has turned into a gruesome tragedy. At first it seems like an open and shut case: a murder suicide committed by Ralph's volatile brother Cameron. Then new evidence makes Mack suspect the man who reported the crime is in fact the perpetrator. But Mack isn't the only one with a stake in the case.
-
-
Pure reading enjoyment
- By VA Barnhill - Author on 06-10-20
By: Mark Dawson
-
Maisie Dobbs
- Maisie Dobbs, Book 1
- By: Jacqueline Winspear
- Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maisie Dobbs got her start as a maid in an aristocratic London household when she was thirteen. Her employer, suffragette Lady Rowan Compton, soon became her patron, taking the remarkably bright youngster under her wing. Lady Rowan’s friend, Maurice Blanche, often retained as an investigator by the European elite, recognized Maisie’s intuitive gifts. The outbreak of war changed everything. Ten years after the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie sets out on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive.
-
-
All ‘round tip top
- By nancy M on 01-10-23
-
Murder in Old Bombay
- A Mystery
- By: Nev March
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1892, Bombay is the center of British India. Nearby, Captain Jim Agnihotri lays in Poona military hospital recovering from a skirmish on the wild Northern frontier, with little to read but newspapers. The case that catches Jim's attention is being called the crime of the century: Two women fell from the busy university’s clock tower in broad daylight. Moved by the widower of one of the victims - his certainty that his wife and sister did not commit suicide - Jim approaches the Framjis and is hired by the Parsee family to investigate what happened that terrible afternoon.
-
-
Would make a great Indian Downton Abbey serial
- By puplhunt on 11-25-20
By: Nev March
-
Billy Boyle
- A World War II Mystery
- By: James R. Benn
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What's a 22-year-old Irish American cop who's never been out of Massachusetts before doing at Beardsley Hall, an English country house, having lunch with King Haakon of Norway? Billy Boyle himself wonders. Back home in Southie, hed barely made detective when war was declared. Unwilling to fight and perhaps die for England, he was relieved when his mother wangled a job for him on the staff of a general married to her distant cousin.
-
-
"boys own " adventure with wider appeal
- By connie on 02-19-12
By: James R. Benn
-
On Desperate Ground
- A Novel
- By: James R. Benn
- Narrated by: Barry Press
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The thrilling story of men and women caught up in the death throes of Nazi Germany, struggling to maintain those things precious to them - life, an end to killing, and even sanity itself. Colonel Johann Faust has lost everyone he ever loved and feels he is going inexorably insane. He hears the haunting voice of his dead fiancée and the demons that roar through his mind as he perfects a plan to save Nazi Germany from defeat and insure a greater and deadlier new world war.
-
-
captured the time
- By Kindle Customer on 06-01-14
By: James R. Benn
-
Prince of Spies
- The Richard Prince Thrillers, Book 1
- By: Alex Gerlis
- Narrated by: Rupert Bush
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1942: a German spy comes ashore on a desolate stretch of Lincolnshire beach. But he is hunted down by a young detective, Richard Prince. The secret services have need of a man like him.... In occupied Europe, Denmark is a hotbed of problems for British intelligence. Rumours of a war-ending weapon being developed by the Germans are rife. Sent to Copenhagen, Prince is soon caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Dodging Gestapo agents, SS muscle and the danger of betrayal, his survival - and the war effort - hangs in the balance.
-
-
Ending?
- By T Smith on 02-24-21
By: Alex Gerlis
-
The House in the Woods
- Atticus Priest, Book 1
- By: Mark Dawson
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Christmas Eve, DCI Mackenzie Jones is called to a shooting at a remote farmhouse. Ralph Mallender believes his father lies dead inside. When three more bodies are discovered, it's clear a festive family gathering has turned into a gruesome tragedy. At first it seems like an open and shut case: a murder suicide committed by Ralph's volatile brother Cameron. Then new evidence makes Mack suspect the man who reported the crime is in fact the perpetrator. But Mack isn't the only one with a stake in the case.
-
-
Pure reading enjoyment
- By VA Barnhill - Author on 06-10-20
By: Mark Dawson
-
Maisie Dobbs
- Maisie Dobbs, Book 1
- By: Jacqueline Winspear
- Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maisie Dobbs got her start as a maid in an aristocratic London household when she was thirteen. Her employer, suffragette Lady Rowan Compton, soon became her patron, taking the remarkably bright youngster under her wing. Lady Rowan’s friend, Maurice Blanche, often retained as an investigator by the European elite, recognized Maisie’s intuitive gifts. The outbreak of war changed everything. Ten years after the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie sets out on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive.
-
-
All ‘round tip top
- By nancy M on 01-10-23
-
Murder in Old Bombay
- A Mystery
- By: Nev March
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1892, Bombay is the center of British India. Nearby, Captain Jim Agnihotri lays in Poona military hospital recovering from a skirmish on the wild Northern frontier, with little to read but newspapers. The case that catches Jim's attention is being called the crime of the century: Two women fell from the busy university’s clock tower in broad daylight. Moved by the widower of one of the victims - his certainty that his wife and sister did not commit suicide - Jim approaches the Framjis and is hired by the Parsee family to investigate what happened that terrible afternoon.
-
-
Would make a great Indian Downton Abbey serial
- By puplhunt on 11-25-20
By: Nev March
-
The Secret Hours
- By: Mick Herron
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating "historical over-reaching" by the British Secret Service “to investigate historical over-reaching.” Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any hint of misconduct by any MI5 officer—and allowed Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, the two civil servants seconded to the project, unfettered access to any and all confidential information in the Service archives in order to do so. But MI5’s formidable First Desk did not become Britain’s top spy by accident, and she has successfully thwarted the inquiry at every turn.
-
-
Just about perfect
- By June Lapidow on 09-28-23
By: Mick Herron
-
Eye of the Needle
- A Novel
- By: Ken Follett
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His code name was “The Needle.” He was a German aristocrat of extraordinary intelligence - a master spy with a legacy of violence in his blood, and the object of the most desperate manhunt in history.... But his fate lay in the hands of a young and vulnerable English woman, whose loyalty, if swayed, would assure his freedom - and win the war for the Nazis....
-
-
All-time great thriller, great reader, great idea
- By Glenn Hopp on 03-14-21
By: Ken Follett
-
The Eagle's Claw
- A Novel of the Battle of Midway
- By: Jeff Shaara
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spring 1942. The United States is reeling from the blow the Japanese inflicted at Pearl Harbor. But the Americans are determined to turn the tide. The key comes from Commander Joe Rochefort, a little known “code breaker” who cracks the Japanese military encryption. With Rochefort’s astonishing discovery, Admiral Chester Nimitz will know precisely what the Japanese are planning.
-
-
A good story
- By Mike West on 06-05-21
By: Jeff Shaara
-
The Tourist
- A Novel
- By: Olen Steinhauer
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the vein of John le Carré and Graham Greene, this contemporary international thriller follows Milo Weaver as he is drawn into a conspiracy that links riots in the Sudan, an assassin committing suicide, and an old friend who's been accused of selling secrets to the Chinese. Once the CIA and Homeland Security are after him, the only way for him to survive is to return, headfirst, into Tourism.
-
-
A book not for dummies
- By Tim on 03-23-09
By: Olen Steinhauer
-
Dark of the Moon
- By: John Sandford
- Narrated by: Eric Conger
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Virgil Flowers kicked around for a while before joining the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. First it was the army and the military police, then the police in St. Paul, and finally Lucas Davenport brought him into the BCA, promising him, "We'll only give you the hard stuff." He's been doing the hard stuff for three years now, but never anything like this.
-
-
Be ready for pretty descriptive sexual child abuse.
- By CDB on 07-03-18
By: John Sandford
-
A Curious Beginning
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria's golden jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, the orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry - and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as she is fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
-
-
For fans of Elizabeth Peters and Gail Carriger
- By L. Williams on 06-29-16
By: Deanna Raybourn
-
Some Danger Involved
- Barker & Llewelyn Series, Book 1
- By: Will Thomas
- Narrated by: Antony Ferguson
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An atmospheric debut novel set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, Some Danger Involved introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar in London's Jewish ghetto. When the eccentric and enigmatic Barker takes the case, he must hire an assistant, and out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved", he chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man with a murky past.
-
-
Clever writing!
- By Kathi on 01-13-17
By: Will Thomas
-
The White Lady
- A Novel
- By: Jacqueline Winspear
- Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A reluctant ex-spy with demons of her own, Elinor finds herself facing down one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in London, ultimately exposing corruption from Scotland Yard to the highest levels of government. The private, quiet “Miss White" as Elinor is known, lives in a village in rural Kent, England, and to her fellow villagers seems something of an enigma. Well she might, as Elinor occupies a "grace and favor" property, a rare privilege offered to faithful servants of the Crown for services to the nation.
-
-
Mystery Maven
- By Mystery Maven on 03-24-23
-
Sharpe's Tiger
- The Siege of Seringapatam, 1799
- By: Bernard Cornwell
- Narrated by: Rupert Farley
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, the first exciting adventure in the world-renowned Sharpe series, chronicling the rise of Richard Sharpe, a Private in His Majesty’s Army at the siege of Seringapatam.
-
-
Give us Farley!
- By Samantha Maxwell on 06-04-22
By: Bernard Cornwell
-
The One Man
- A Novel
- By: Andrew Gross
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1944. Physics professor Alfred Mendel and his family were trying to flee Paris when they were caught and forced onto a train, along with thousands of other Jewish families. At the other end of the long, torturous train ride, Alfred is separated from his family and sent to the men’s camp, where all of his belongings are tossed on a roaring fire. His books, his papers, his life’s work. The Nazis have no idea what they have just destroyed. And without that physical record, Alfred is one of only two people in the world with his particular knowledge. Knowledge that could start a war, or end it.
-
-
You gotta have a STRONG stomach.
- By Richard Delman on 09-22-16
By: Andrew Gross
-
The Templar Legacy
- A Novel
- By: Steve Berry
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts—and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he’d left behind.
-
-
Dan Brown... eat your heart out
- By Bonnie-Ann on 07-22-12
By: Steve Berry
-
A Cat Was Involved
- A Chet and Bernie Mystery Short, Story 1
- By: Spencer Quinn
- Narrated by: Jim Frangione
- Length: 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spencer Quinn’s first original audio short story reveals how everyone’s favorite detective duo - Chet the Dog and P.I. Bernie Little - came to meet before their first big case in Dog On It. As fans know, Chet first met Bernie on that fateful day when he flunked out of K-9 police school. The details of that day, though, have always remained a little vague (like so much in Chet’s doggy brain). All we know is that Chet had been the best leaper in his K-9 class, but for some reason he failed his final leaping test...and that a cat was involved...and that there was some blood. But whose?
-
-
Messed up timeline.
- By Seeker77 on 08-09-15
By: Spencer Quinn
What listeners say about Blue Madonna
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- A Happy Sort Of OCD
- 06-08-22
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? 😕
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ronald
- 10-18-16
An edgier Billy Boyle!
James Benn has done a great job in developing the protagonist through the series. I found Billy Boyle as a much darker version than the character from the earlier novels. This seems to go hand in hand with a person subjected to the horrors of war over the past years. Peter Berkrot delivers once again as the narrator. Listen to the book and enjoy. You will not be disappointed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ZUrlocker
- 08-14-24
Great WWII Historical Fiction
While I have not read all of the Billy Boyle books, every one is great. Blue Madonna, like the others, is historically accurate concerning the increasing theft of army supplies by deserters and criminal gangs. Billy gets called in to help investigate, which also leads to some action in occupied France. The story has good pacing and also includes a murder mystery with some interesting twists. I wouldn't say this is the best Billy Boyle story, but it's solid and a good lead up to D-Day. Note that you can read the books in any order you like. One minor problem: this audiobook does not include the short author's note at the end which provides more historic context for the story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gary L. Richardson
- 02-04-17
Well Done
This is definitely a twist on the Billy Boyle series and I liked it very much. The author built out the character more and left us wanting the next book with the interesting ending. Where does bully go next? If you like the series, you will like this book. Next please.....
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- David
- 09-21-16
So good.
Top 3 in the Series. Starts strong and doesn't stop. Mr. Benn, can you hurry on the next?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Clifford K.
- 07-20-20
a good story in the series
it's a good story I struggle with the narration though I hate to be critical of a narrator when I don't think I could do it. the only thing I can say is I enjoy the narrator of the first four books so much better but somehow this person is taking hold of the narration and has narrated all the books since then. it's an interesting story I think the offer does a lot of really good research on the historical context of the time invoking a lot of historical facts in and out of his novels.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- JOHN
- 10-16-16
NOT ON OF FAVS.
UNLIKE THE EARLIER BILLY BOOKS, HE NEVER SOLVES THE CRIME HE WAS SENT SOLVE. THE LAST 3 BILLY BOYLE BOOKS ARE NOT AS GOOD AS THE FIRST 7. STILL GREAT NARRATION. SAVE YOUR $$$$$$$
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!