A Blind Goddess by James R. Benn

Army investigator Billy Boyle is asked by an old friend to investigate the murder of a local policeman in World War II era Britain.

This is the second-to-latest novel in a series of novels about Army investigator Billy Boyle.

Like A Fine Summer's Day, A Blind Goddess is a historical fiction mystery.  A Fine Summer's Day was an "origin story," and explained the backstory of the protagonist. It's a great place to jump into a long and long-established series.

A Blind Goddess is not an origin story, but because one of the characters in this story is a childhood friend of Billy's, there's a lot of discussion of his teenage years in Boston when he met this friend. So, if you haven't read the rest of the series, you won't feel that you missed something important and you should not feel compelled to read the novels in order before you can read this one.

Billy is granted leave, but before he can leave, he's asked for help by an old friend.  His friend, Tree, works in an African-American anti-Tank unit.  His gunner has been arrested for the murder of a local policeman because the dead man had warned the accused, "Angry" Smith, from dating his sister.  The dead man's body was dumped in a local cemetery, on the grave of his father.

Billy feels the pull of old loyalties and can't walk away from this request.

What I found very interesting was the setting, and the discussion of racism and segregation in the military during World War II.

The books in the series are:

Billy Boyle

The First Wave

Blood Alone

Evil for Evil

Rag and Bone

A Mortal Terror

Death's Door

A Blind Goddess

The Rest Is Silence