Ed Ruggero is the author of nearly a dozen books. Comes the War was published in 2021 and is the second novel in his Eddie Harkins series. It is the 68th book I completed reading in 2023.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence and mature language, I categorize this novel as R.

April 1944 and D-Day is rapidly approaching. An OSS analyst, Helen Batcheller, has been murdered. First Lieutenant Eddie Harkins is assigned to investigate her death. To assist him, 20-year-old British Private Pamela Lowell is appointed as his driver. Having lost her family to a German bombing raid, she is ready to help Harkins in any way. They are both intelligent and resourceful, making them a good team. They also both tend to speak their mind. A quality that is not often appreciated by superiors.

The very drunk US Army Air Force Major Frederick Cushing emerges as the prime suspect in the murder. He has been a thorn in the Air Force’s side, so they are more than ready to get rid of him, whether he is guilty or not. Harkins has doubts as to Cushing’s guilt. Contrary to the advice of superiors, he continues with his investigation.

The simple murder case quickly expands to include Russian spies, espionage, and blackmail. With pressure mounting to close the case before the pending invasion, Harkins has little time left.

I enjoyed the 9 hours I spent reading this 284-page WWII historical fiction novel. I already had the opportunity to read the first novel in this series, Blame the Dead. I consider both it and this novel to be excellent mysteries set in WWII. I give this novel a rating of 4.5 (rounded to 5) out of 5.

Lt. Eddie Harkins just arrived in London to join the OSS and got tossed into a murder investigation even before getting a chance to take a nap. An OSS analyst named Helen Batcheller was the victim. Clues pointed toward a 8th Air Force pilot, but Harkness had his doubts. Between the Air Force, the Army, British and Soviet allies, the case was quite twisted. But with the help of his female British driver and a fellow OSS officer, Harkness managed to piece together the clues and solve the case. A nice sequel to Blame the Dead!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. What a good mystery/thriller. Recommend

I should perhaps begin by saying that I didn't read the first book in this series, but that it didn't matter. I loved this book. The characters were both surprising and fun and the mystery took a while to unravel. I will now have to find that first book.

The author did an exemplary job of portraying the time period and setting and particularly the common turns of phrase expected from that era. I loved his driver and hope that she remains in the series. This was one of those books that I was able to devour in an afternoon because it kept me entertained and turning pages, whilst also managing to give me a few laughs.

If you are interested in mysteries and detective stories set in the 20th Century, then this would be a great book for you to consider. The story is exciting and the writing is fluid. Thumbs up for this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Historical fiction is as old as Gilgamesh, I suppose, and detective fiction is as old as Wilkie Collins. But historical detective fiction dates back to the era of shoulder pads and leg warmers, when some enterprising authors hit upon the idea that standard mystery plots could be superimposed on medieval abbeys and Roman villas. It continues to chug along, and COMES THE WAR is one of several recent historical mysteries that focus on the era of the Second World War.

The historical mystery is a fusionist genre --- and like fusionist cuisine, like spam musubi, you have to kind of be in the mood for it. (There was a short-lived Mexican-Indian restaurant where I live in Central New Jersey, and you really, really had to be in the mood for that kind of thing.) And like fusionist cuisine, historical mystery is all about balance. You can’t let the historical elements outweigh the mystery, or vice versa.

"COMES THE WAR is a perfectly adequate and satisfying police procedural, and if you’re not asking for much more than that, you won’t be disappointed."

COMES THE WAR initially comes on like gangbusters, with a promising cold open. A female American economist working for the OSS is found in a London alley with her throat slashed, and an American MP and the London police are contesting jurisdiction. A suspect is found incoherently drunk in a local pub, and he just so happens to be tied into the intrigue involving the upcoming D-Day invasion. All the pieces are there for author Ed Ruggero to put them together, but he doesn’t quite achieve that.

One of the choices you have to make in historical mysteries is to have either fictional characters or fictionalized versions of real characters. Ruggero goes with the former approach, which is probably the best way to go, but his characters are curiously flat. The lead, ex-Philadelphia cop Eddie Harkins, is a mouthy version of Joe Friday --- just-the-facts with a bit of backtalk. He’s accompanied by a mousy female driver from the motor pool, and the two pinball around wartime London, dodging piles of debris left over from the Blitz.

The difficulty with the just-the-facts approach results in a book that is overly talky and not in any way evocative. COMES THE WAR covers the themes of 1944 London --- privation, rationing, dread of the unknowns regarding the coming invasion of Fortress Europe --- without ever giving the reader a sense of the time and place.

Ruggero does work to inject a little energy into the book, once by having Harkins witness the fatal crash of a long-range bomber at an English airfield, and once by inexplicably re-routing Harkins on a training mission that ends in tragedy. These side trips are helpful for reminding Harkins, and the reader, of the stakes involved in the war, but don’t do much to move the story forward. Harkins' strong suit is interrogating people, but this makes for a very talky book. The characters go from one interrogation to another, endlessly chasing down false and confusing leads.

COMES THE WAR is a perfectly adequate and satisfying police procedural, and if you’re not asking for much more than that, you won’t be disappointed. But there is so much promise in this particular historical setting, and so many opportunities for the stolid American cop to run into characters who are interesting, or at least eccentric. All of the elements are there; they are just not delivered in the right way.

Comes The War by Ed Ruggero is a novel based in London during WW2 just before D-Day. Eddie Harkins a former Philadelphia cop, is now an MP in the Army, has just arrived in London and is promptly assigned a muder case to solve. This book is action packed! It does not slow down, the characters are interesting and this story flows! Best of all it is based around true history. This is the second book with the character Eddie Harkins and I hope the author continues with this character!

Thank you to Netgalley and Forge Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I will definitely be adding this book to my bookshelves!

Comes the War is the second novel in Ed Ruggero’s Eddie Harkins WW2 thrillers. The first book Blame the Dead by Ed Ruggero was set in Sicily in 1943 during the Allied push north. Philadelphia beat cop Eddie Harkins survives the bombings and the various threats to solve the mystery of Doctor Stephenson’s murder. Comes the War begins as Harkins is transferred to London in the spring of ’44 for the ramp-up of the invasion into northern France. On the morning of Harkin’s arrival, the body of a young American woman is found with her throat slit in an alley. Eddie gets to the scene of the crime and immediately finds himself in a jurisdictional nightmare. British investigators, other Americans who want the crime swept under the rug, and what about those Russian ‘diplomats’ who are already planning for life after the war?

Caught in between so many fighting factions, Harken is lucky to find a couple allies… One of whom is his newly attached driver, a young British private named Pamela Lowell. She reminds me a bit of one of my favorite characters of all time in one of my favorite TV shows… Sam Stewart from Foyle’s War. Like Sam, Lowell in Comes the War is as much a part of the investigation as Harkins himself. She’s the translator, guide, and psychologist in one… There’s a lot for a Yank to try to piece together after just a couple days on the case in an unknown big city. One that continues to be threatened by The Blitz. To help, Lowell seems to have contacts and info all over the Allied war effort. Great character!

Ruggero sets up this mystery so well… in just the first few pages a suspect of convenience is identified. A drunk airman who was in the general location of the victim on the night in question and unfortunately, has no memory of anything. Some administrators close to the case see this as an opportunity for a slam dunk, but Harkins is prepared to dig deeper and find the proof. And as all the factions start to come out of the woodwork, the novel just becomes that much more complex… and the suspect list keeps growing and growing! (Which I love!)

I read so many WW2 spy thrillers in my 20s that I got a bit burned out… Ruggero’s novels are perfect welcome back to this genre for me. This series feels fresh and true to the period. It combines everyday people forced into dangerous situations… taking jobs they never would imagine doing.

Comes the War is a book that I raced through… a book that focuses on the awesome responsibility of finding the culprit in the midst of war.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Forge Books, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

Comes The War by Ed Ruggero is Book 2 in the Eddie Harkins series. It is April 1944, and the allies are preparing to invade France. Lieutenant Eddie Harkins is in England and is on orders to join the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) when an American civilian employee is murdered. Eddie finds himself in charge of the investigation, but his superiors settle on a suspect very quickly. Ordered to close the case, but doubting the guilt of the accused, Eddie continues his investigation. He is aided by his driver, Private Pamela Lowell, a smart and resourceful ally.

This was a fascinating look at the Allied forces in WWII England in 1944 prior to D-Day. It combines a fictional murder investigation with actual World War II history in a compelling way. The political fights between the commanding generals and the “air” vs.”ground” war philosophy are intriguing. It contradicts some of the history books on the effectiveness of the air campaign during the war. It speaks of Major General James Doolittle, whose bombing raids may have caused thousands of unnecessary deaths with no real strategic wins. I also learned that General Dwight D. Eisenhower was so upset by the pushback from the Army Air Force and Royal Air Force generals against his plans that he threatened to quit his command and return to the United States just a few months before D-Day. I have read many books set in World War II, but this one really made me want to read more about the strategic military history of the day.

The characters are well developed, and the murder mystery and investigation are interesting and engaging, with many twists and turns. I would recommend this book both to fans of World War II history and fans of crime/thriller fiction.

I received a free copy of this book from MacMillan/Tor-Forge via Netgalley for Historical Novels Review Magazine. My review is voluntary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the advance copy of Comes the War. I picked this book, as historical fiction, specifically WWII Europe, is my favorite genre. I don’t often read mystery/thrillers within this category but enjoyed it. It was a slow start for me but I’m glad I stuck it out. It was a bit heavy on the war tactics and I felt overwhelmed at times. I did love Harkins by the end and would add other books in this series to my TBR.

Ed Ruggero has written a thoroughly enjoyable historical mystery in Comes the War, the second in his Eddie Harkins series. Ruggero is a West Point graduate, Army infantry officer, and, later, West Point instructor; his expertise shows in this tightly written book that will engage readers from the first chapter to the final historical note. The protagonist, Eddie Harkins, former Philadelphia beat cop, and now US Army First Lieutenant, arrives in London to become part of the fledgling OSS office there, just as Britain is crammed full of Yankee soldiers preparing for the coming cross-Channel offensive. From the small but difficult details (Harkins notices that lots of Brits are thin, and muses about the effects of rationing) to the large issues (were the Russians or the Germans the perpetrators of the Katyn Forest massacre of Poles), Ruggero’s descriptions will make readers think, even as they are also trying to solve the fictional murder of an OSS analyst along with Harkins. (On a personal note, your reviewer’s frustration with Covid-19’s stay-at-home orders suddenly felt trivial - a good thing!)

Although a solid historical background is necessary for a historical mystery, there also needs to be a suitably puzzling mystery, or else one is simply reading a historical novel. And the search for the killer of Helen Batcheller, a civilian analyst with a PhD in economics from Stanford (!!!), has enough twists and turns to keep Harkins busy – and to keep readers happy. The US Army, or at least some parts of it, appears ready to make a fall guy of the first suspect Harkins finds. But in the end, Harkins persists, and navigates his way past diversions ranging from Russian spies to a training mission gone badly wrong as he brings the case to a satisfactory conclusion.

Comes the War was a pleasure to read. I don’t give many five-star reviews, but Comes the War has earned one. Readers will hope for more books in this series, and for the return of characters such as Harkins’ British driver, Private Lowell, and Harkins’ paratrooper/chaplain brother, Patrick – and, of course, Harkins himself. Finally, my thanks to the publisher, Forge Books, and to NetGalley for the advance review copy!

Comes the War was so good! I loved the writing and the story, The characters were extremely well written. This book left me completely satisfied.

As a historian I love reading historical fictions, but I usually find myself bored instead of enjoying it. I wasn't bored at all with this one. It was so well done!

I can't wait to read more from this author!

A murder mystery with military intrigue set in WWII London. Great character development, and an enjoyable mystery read over all. Learning about various historical events in the midst of fiction was a definite plus.

An exciting read with good action and a plot that will keep you hooked! If your a fan of murder mysteries, you will enjoy this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lieutenant Eddie Harkins was once a beat cop in Philadelphia. Now he is using his talents for the Army in Europe, as World War II enters its final phase. This is the second book in the Eddie Harkins series (thought I don’t think it’s necessary to read the first before this one) and, as it begins, Eddie has been ordered to the London branch of the OSS, to investigate the murder of Helen Batcheller, one of the agency’s intelligence analysts.

Right from the get-go, something seems fishy about this case to Eddie. His superior officer and a military lawyer together seem awfully anxious to pin Helen’s murder on an officer, Cushing, she had met with the night of her death. Cushing, a shell-shocked pilot trying to wash away his pain in a sea of alcohol, tells Eddie he doesn’t remember much about that night except that he knows he didn’t kill Helen. He also recalls that she shared with him some intelligence that seems to have come from Russian contacts and that casts doubt on US air corps claims of damage they’ve wreaked on Germany’s military manufacturing capabilities. All of this presents Eddie with a wealth of suspects in addition to the possibility of murder by a stranger. The Soviets, certain elements in the air corps, maybe even somebody else connected with Helen’s intelligence work.

Eddie is helped in his investigation by his eager young female British driver and by a bean-counter OSS officer. He is hindered by those trying to rush to a conviction of Cushing and some unknown nemesis who wants to remove Eddie from action permanently.

This is a good story for those interested in mysteries set in World War II. It’s grounded in some lesser-known elements of military history, and Ruggero creates a real-feeling atmosphere of England in the last weeks before D-Day. The story is clunky in parts, with Ruggero advancing the plot by simply having characters tell us who has a motive and even, toward the end, whodunnit. So, not so impressive for police procedural fans, but a decent story for mystery readers interested in WWII history.

Although I did not read the first book in this series I didn’t feel lost or that I was missing anything necessary to this story. Set during the build up to D-Day, the mystery involves a murder and the build up os the Soviet spy network. The main characters were engaging and the plot had enough twists to maintain interest. I enjoyed this mystery.

Ed Ruggero goes to war with Comes the War, Lt. Eddie Haskins is tasked with investigating a murder in London, 1944. He soon becomes embroiled in spies and hidden agendas. A gripping look at Americans and Brits in the days before D-Day, when bombs still fell on the island. Nicely done, I look forward to more. #ComesTheWar