Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Death of an Officer by Mark Ellis

The most recent book in the fine World War II historical mystery and police procedural series featuring DCI Frank Merlin and an inadequate London police force was released in the UK on May 29. It is available now in the US in ebook but the paperback won’t be available here until September. The vagaries of the international publishing world continue to confound me.

Fortunately I received an ARC so I didn’t have to wait to read about Merlin and his team’s latest struggles with the crime wave that overtook the metropolis while most of the force was on the front lines. In May 1943 the tide was just beginning to turn against Hitler with the decisive loss to the Allies in North Africa late the previous year. The fighting was still heavy in Europe and the home front in Britain was still working hard just to exist from day to day.

Merlin is called to the bloody scene of a homicide, an Indian gynecologist who was battered to death with a jade statue of Ganesh. The physician lived alone, his wife was a long-term patient in a mental hospital in the country. What looks to be a likely robbery gone wrong unfolds into something far more complex. The seemingly blameless doctor led a shady social life and at least one patient questioned his professionalism. The omnipresent issue of racism as a potential factor is always in the back of Merlin’s mind. In the end the killer was not even on my radar.

In a surprisingly involved plot Ellis delivers an absorbing story that showcases a positive cornucopia of crime: murder, kidnapping, embezzlement, blackmail, burglary, prostitution, and treason. Each member of his team has the spotlight as the chapters shift focus from one investigative thread to another. Bernie Goldberg, the US military liaison who appeared in earlier books, is here again and the groundwork is laid for his ongoing involvement in future stories. The organized crime perspective is well represented, adding a general aura of thuggery.

A strong historical setting rich with authentic details about the daily lives of ordinary people during the war and a competent police investigation replete with period elements. Highly recommended.

 

·         Publisher: ‎Headline Accent

·         Publication date: ‎September 2, 2025

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎336 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1035427028

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1035427024

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3FBZh5S

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis

Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis (Headline Accent, 2023) is the fifth book in the DCI Frank Merlin historical mystery series. Set in 1942, after the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies, the conflict is in full swing and seems never ending to the folks on the Home Front. Merlin and his limited personnel are inundated by one crime wave after another. He gets pulled into what might be an art theft when one of the negotiators to the sale of some rare da Vinci drawings turns up dead. The timing is just too pat for the death not to be connected to the sale of the sketches that one young man insists were stolen from his family by the Nazis about 10 years earlier. The provenance of the drawings isn’t clear, but the timing lends credence to the claim of theft. And the Nazis were known to have sticky fingers for classic art pieces. On the other hand, the amount of cash stolen might explain homicide aside from the artwork.

Consideration of espionage is inevitable under the circumstances. Whose spy is where and are they double agents or triple agents? Are they in any way involved with the art sale and subsequent murders? Then the cash that was taken from a locked wall safe: Only two crooks were known to be able to crack a safe of that caliber. Where are they? The potential murderers and possible motives and blameless bystanders are legion and hard to keep straight.

A compelling side plot deals with a black U. S. soldier, whom an Alabama lieutenant of the military police adjudged guilty of a crime without further investigation. Merlin was aghast at the blatant injustice and stepped on more than a few political toes to stop the execution of an innocent man.

This series consistently offers a strong authentic setting that faithfully describes life in London during the first years of the war. Crime ran rampant and the police could do little to stop it, with most of its personnel gone off to war. This particular title is involved and has almost too many characters to easily keep sorted. Fans of historical mysteries will want to read these books, starting with the first one. The sixth title is due to be released at the end of May 2025.

 

·         Publisher: ‎Headline Accent

·         Publication Date: ‎April 25, 2023

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print Length: ‎384 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1786159880

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1786159885

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4kbHDVm

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.