Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this at all. I had a hard time getting into the story and did not finish.

This was a complex and intriguing novel set during WWII. This is basically an old-fashioned police detective novel, with the added complexity of espionage, criminal activity and several murders that appear to be related...but how? The book has several different stories going on at the same time and consistently rotates among them so that the reader starts to piece together the puzzle along with Detective Merlin...who is uncovering one piece at a time, as well. The story was well-written, deeply engaging and included a lot of details about what was happening in WWII at this time and the relations between England and France, especially the conflict between the Free French and the Vichy government. I enjoyed the detail, the characterizations and the fluidity of the story. I would highly recommend this book and I look forward to going back and reading the first two DCI Frank Merlin stories.

I received a copy of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Merlin at War is the third book in the historical detective thriller series featuring DCI Frank Merlin. Set in the midst of World War II, it is a mystery story that has enormous scope and constanty changing scenes. It opens with British troops under fire in Crete, then manages to shift to Egypt, and then to London, and then across the entire globe. This worldwide setting is very much appropriate for a story set in the midst of a world at war with the entire universe shifting underfoot every time someone blinked. You can tell that the author put an enormous amount of research into the historical underpinnings and even to the dialogue which rang absolutely true. Perhaps I would have been better served to have first read books one and two of the series, but I found that this was a tough book to wade through, thick as it was with constantly changing scenes and a host of seemingly unrelated characters and plot lines. Definitely an author to watch, though.

Mark Ellis' Merlin at War, featuring London DCI Frank Merlin, is the third in this series. In 2014, I read and enjoyed The Princes Gate, set during the phony war between September 1939 and May 1940, but I somehow missed Stalin's Gold, the second in the series which also received positive reviews.

Merlin at War takes place after the fall of France; the armistice between Vichy France and Germany is in effect, and the nominal government of France collaborates with Nazi Germany in reprehensible ways.

The book begins, however, in Crete where a team of British soldiers hope to escape and be evacuated. Only one man survives the perilous journey. The survivor carries a letter from his superior officer, but the officer dies before he can definitively designate the letter's recipient.

Ellis depicts a London during the nervous calm after the autumn Blitz of 1940: a young woman dies in a botched abortion; the French emigre doctor who performed the abortion is murdered; a traitor among the Free French delegation operating from London sends messages to the Vichy government with the time and place a young agent is to be dropped into France; there are a connections to Buenos Aires and New York.

Most of the book is a satisfying mystery with compelling historical elements, but the multiple subplots slow it down a bit. Nevertheless, Merlin at War presents a view of the war from many angles, and Ellis' main characters have depth and dimension.

Read in August; blog review scheduled for Sept. 27.

NetGalley/JKS Communications

Historical Mystery/WWII. Oct. 12, 2017. Print length: 490 pages.

First things first, the hardback edition of Merlin at War (Frank Merlin 3) is a beautiful looking book and would grace any bookself. The cover is inviting and the thickness is something to behold – probably an odd comment but it just begs to be read in front of a warm fire!

The third instalment in the Frank Merlin series sees Frank tackle The Free French, a vicious gambling boss and the odd problem or two closer to home. We travel the globe from Buenos Airies, France, Germany and of course London under threat of the Blitz. That said, the Blitz has drawn to a close – even though the locals didn’t know it at the time – a couple of months earlier but Londoners were perpetually concerned and prepared to act with little or no warning.

I really enjoyed the storyline, one thing mark Ellis has done throughout the series is relate history well. The books are informative and imaginative blending snippets of real life history with enthusiastic fiction. It makes you want to read and I guess you can’t ask for more as an author than that.

The storyline is fun and well told, the characters all coming to life – especially the regulars – but it all gives a true feel of what life was like deep in the Second World War. Animosity towards Jews from all corners, French and German collusion and within all that utter greed for money and power!

The book is a complex one with many subplots so you’ll have to concentrate, especially three quarters of the way through. I think the author could have wrapped things 50 pages earlier because it strayed down a path that I struggled to keep up. Having said that I was more than happy to continue on the strength of his previous titles. I’m glad I did.

The highlight of the book for me was the way in which everything was tied up, the tiny little details and relationships put to bed and I felt satisfied. He leaves the door open a little to hint at what comes next – and I have my ideas based on real life history – it’ll be interesting to see if I’m right!

Well thought out, well told and well structured. Another great read from the author. Da iawn Mark!

I would like to thank Netgalley and London Wall Publishing for a review copy of Merlin at War, the third novel in the DCI Frank Merlin series set in WWII London.

Frank and the team are called out to the scene of a botched abortion where both mother and baby have died. Trying to identify the victim and doctor, along with the two other men present takes them into wartime politics among the Free French and when the suspected abortionist is murdered the mystery deepens. In a separate storyline Lieutenant Edwin Powell, a friend of Merlin, witnesses the death in action of Captain Simon Arbuthnot and agrees to deliver a letter for him but unfortunately Arbuhnot dies before he can say who the letter is for. In the meantime Arbuthnot's shady business partners are all jockeying for position.

This is the first DCI Merlin novel I have read and I have mixed feelings about it. The plotting is first class with plenty of twists and turns and detail so the reader will have to concentrate to keep up. It is however a long book and I felt my attention flagging in the middle - "just get on with it" was my thought. I also feel that the format added to my inattention. The novel has a linear narrative but it is told from so many points of view that it is difficult to hold any thread as it may be several chapters before it appears again. Initially it is interesting as it throws up so many intriguing mysteries but after a while all the jumping about palls, especially on the extremely boring subject of Arbuthnot's business dealings. I think this could have been a much shorter, punchier read without the whole Arbuthnot storyline.

Mr Ellis has done a fine job with his historical detail, successfully weaving real characters into his narrative in an interesting and informative way. I really liked the death/murder plot and where it took the team (no spoilers) but the Arbuthnot plot is unnecessary, unconvincing and smacks of padding.

Merlin at War is not a bad book it just didn't hold my attention as I had anticipated.