James R. Benn is the author of the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries. The debut, Billy Boyle, was a Dilys Award nominee and a Book Sense top-five mystery, 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.