Description
London. Spring 1943. While Europe continues to suffer under the iron fist of Nazi occupation, Britain remains battered but unbowed.
DCI Frank Merlin, already contending with a booming wartime crime wave in the capital, is confronted with a baffling case: the brutal murder of a respected doctor.
Following a puzzling trail that leads him into the hidden corners of clubland — and which appears to be linked to the disappearance of both British and American officers — Merlin must untangle a dark web of shocking secrets.
Endorsements
"This is to my shame the first Mark Ellis book I've read. If the others evoke a vanished London so impressively, are graced with such complex plots and deep characterisation, and, above all, are written so well I shall have to read them all." — The Times
"An atmospheric, compelling evocation of war-torn London in the wake of the Blitz, where DCI Frank Merlin fights against a tidal wave of crime." — Geoffrey Wansell, Crime and Thriller Reviewer, Daily Mail
"Unputdownable." — Robert Lyman
"Mark Ellis delivers diamonds — an intriguing, masterly juggling of an intricate plot and an enviable command of detail." — John Lawton
"Extraordinarily atmospheric and compelling, Dead in the Water is a wonderfully intelligent and complex story." — Chris Lloyd, HWA Gold Crown Award winner
"...historical noir at its best. Mark Ellis's talents as a writer are many; finely embroidered plotting, a meticulously researched historical context and place, and rounded characters whose lives and capers become real for a reader." — Gary Donnelly
"A very satisfying puzzle, expertly crafted." — Historical Novel Society