'This absorbing , brilliantly plotted and historically well researched story drives forward to the gripping conclusion. Frank Merlin is a lovely creation and totally convincing even down to the Fishermans Friends … I lost myself again in this thriller; this was a superb entertainment and I look forward to reading “A Death In Mayfair” when it is published in late November 2019. Such imaginative books of this very high quality are few and far between. Very strongly recommended.'
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/RU6W2JFYA96YF?ref=pf_vv_at_pdctrvw_srp
'A richly atmospheric, authentic, and suspenseful detective series set during World War II on the UK's home front. Mark Ellis calls to mind Ken Follett, Alan Furst, and P.D. James.' Joseph Finder, New York Times bestseller author of ‘Suspicion’ and ‘Guilty Minds’.
'Ellis has written a wonderfully detailed and layered story … It feels very real. One can almost smell the French cigarette smoke wafting through the air’.
https://killernashville.com/merlin-war-mark-ellis-review-e-j-boyd/
An international murder mystery, largely set in London in 1941, that also dramatizes the withering impact of World War II on Europe.
This is the third installment in author Ellis’ (Stalin’s Gold, 2014, etc.) DCI Frank Merlin series, which not only brings back the titular detective, but also some familiar themes: the danger posed to London by German bombing campaigns, the underground French Resistance to both German occupation and a collaborationist Vichy government, and the moral degradation of a city that lives under the shadow of death.
As always, the author displays a penetrating knowledge of the historical period, conjuring an authentic depiction of 1941 London. Overall, the plot is an exceedingly complicated one that will require a reader’s focused attention. Thankfully, though, despite the story’s complexity, it’s all related in a crisp, unclouded prose style.
A historically realistic and dramatically enthralling crime story.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mark-ellis/merlin-war/
'A truly spellbinding page turner that keeps you hooked right until the end.'
'It's a good twisty plot which neatly fuses fact and fiction. There's a real sense of this being a world war and there's a particularly good representation of the relationships between the Free French and Vichy France'
A historical thriller and clever mystery, Merlin at War is a compelling tale of crime fiction, as perceptive, instinctive, and engaging as DCI Merlin himself.
Merlin At War has a very authentic feel. As a reader you are completely immersed in a bygone era, as you imagine the chaos and turmoil that existed during those frightening years.