Dead In The Water by Mark Ellis #BookReview #BlogTour

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Summer, 1942.
The Second World War rages on but Britain now faces the Nazi threat with America at its side.

In a bombed-out London swarming with gangsters and spies, DCI Frank Merlin continues his battle against rampant wartime crime. A mangled body is found in the Thames just as some items of priceless art go mysteriously missing. What sinister connection links the two?

Merlin and his team follow a twisting trail of secrets and lies as they investigate a baffling and deadly puzzle.

I'm delighted to be hosting the blog tour for Dead In The Water today. Many thanks to Mark Ellis, Headline Accent and Midas PR for sending me a copy of the book and for inviting me to take place in the tour.

A character mentions Sir Walter Scott's famous lines from Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field in Dead In The Water; "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" and those words have perhaps never been as apt. This is a complex, intricately plotted novel that delights with its red herrings and potential suspects until almost the last page. It's the fifth book in Mark Ellis's DCI Frank Merlin series but the first I have read and so I'm able to confirm that it can be read as a standalone too.
There is often a tendency to romanticise the war years as a time when the whole country pulled together but the truth wasn't always as wholesome as the rose-tinted nostalgia leads us to believe, with criminals and opportunists making the most of the circumstances. Dead In The Water takes place in 1942 and the main storyline opens with Merlin and his team apprehending two men responsible for a string of recent armed robberies. In a conversation afterwards between Merlin and his Assistant Commissioner, the AC remarks that he was shocked to learn of the scale of crimes being perpetrated by military personnel. Frank is already aware, of course and the first part of this sophisticated historical crime novel gradually introduces many of the key players. With the Americans and Russians now allies, there is still more than a little uncertainty and mistrust among spies who were formerly enemies, and with double and triple agents at work, it's perhaps not surprising that more than one person should be following the same target. However, this is not an espionage thriller, it's a murder mystery with an impressive body count. 
When the first death is discovered, it initially seems as though the identity of the killer is obvious but Merlin isn't so sure. The sense of time and place is superb throughout the book and the exploration of the difficulties that arise as the Americans insist on new jurisdictional regulations captures the frustration of the British, and their understandable anger at the brutality of those at all levels who support racial segregation. The scrupulous Merlin and his dedicated team of officers face a race against time to prove his intuition is correct but as more murders are committed, he and his team have to figure out whether any of the cases are connected and their meticulous investigation suggests a number of plausible motives and suspects.
The book's sombre prologue is set in Vienna in 1938 and although we never discover exactly what happens to the Jewish Katz family, it is bleakly obvious that Daniel Katz's priceless art collection is seized by the Nazis. Later it becomes clear that although there are some restrictions on the trading of art during the war, deals are still being struck and the negotiations regarding two da Vinci drawings form a vital part of the plot. Although most of the action takes place in London in Dead In The Water, there are also scenes set in places as diverse as Germany, Cairo and Lisbon, with characters from Holland, Armenia, Malta and Spain also having a part to play in this fittingly global wartime thriller. 
The various strands of the storyline are gradually woven together and the atmospheric authenticity of the plot is further enhanced by the real-life figures who feature. Eisenhower has a brief but vital role and there are also entirely convincing appearances by the likes of Stalin, Albert Pierrepoint and famed pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury. This isn't a fast-paced novel but it is utterly compelling and the suspenseful, serpentine narrative kept me engrossed from start to finish. 
Dead In The Water is a deeply satisfying historical thriller with a richly evocative setting and a perplexing mystery complemented by the superbly rendered, believable characters. I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it.

Dead In The Water is published by Headline Accent, purchasing links can be found here but please consider supporting independent bookshops whenever possible.

Follow the blog tour, details are below.

About the Author
Mark Ellis is a thriller writer from Swansea and a former barrister and entrepreneur. Mark grew up under the shadow of his parents’ experience of the Second World War. His father served in the wartime navy and died a young man. His mother told him stories of watching the heavy bombardment of Swansea from the safe vantage point of a hill in Llanelli, and of attending tea dances in wartime London under the bombs and doodlebugs. In consequence, Mark has always been fascinated by World War II and, in particular, the Home Front and the fact that while the nation was engaged in a heroic endeavour, crime flourished. Murder, robbery, theft and rape were rife. Author of the DCI Frank Merlin series, Mark is also a member of the Crime Writer’s Association. He lives in London.

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