Disordered Daggers : Merlin at War by Mark Ellis (2017)

[gervase_fen]

 

 Merlin put the letter down and removed his glasses. “Quite a story, gentlemen!”

Mark Ellis’ historical thriller –submitted for the Gold, Historical and Steel Dagger awards – spans three continents as its complicated plot slowly unwinds over nearly 500 pages. The 1941  setting mostly convinces, and the estimable DCI Frank Merlin is a shrewd and sympathetic lead. Unfortunately he doesn’t seem to have much to do with the resolution of the story, barring one exciting stakeout at Waterloo station ; instead supporting characters write letters of confession to untangle some of the knottier plot points. This was a pleasant enough pot boiler for my commute but John Lawton did this sort of thing with more depth and finesse in “Black Out” over twenty years ago.