My Review of A Death in Mayfair by Mark Ellis

I approached A Death in Mayfair with relish, a crime thriller set during World War 2, and I was not disappointed. 

It's a mammoth read with a Dickensian plethora of characters that I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in. A Death in Mayfair is meticulously researched and you could be easily fooled into thinking that Mark Ellis has travelled back in time to do so; I often forgot that it was not a contemporary novel. Seismic events such as the bombing of Pearl Harbour are indelibly linked on the Allied psyche and are used expertly by Ellis as a backdrop to war torn London. Famous figures from history pop up frequently and I particularly enjoyed my encounter with Winston Churchill.

A Death in Mayfair quite rightly subverts the myth of the 'Dunkirk Spirit' and highlights how human beings don't change just because there is a war on. There will always be those who exploit or are apathetic towards others, those rich enough not to be affected by the war and those that seek to make a profit from any given situation they find themselves in. You will come across all such character types in A Death in Mayfair.

DCI Frank Merlin is just the sort of detective I'd want to investigate if I was ever murdered: he's highly intelligent, unfailingly diligent and makes connections that others would miss. It's a deliciously complex overlapping investigation into the deaths of two young women and only someone of the calibre of Frank Merlin can solve it. 

This is Merlin's fourth outing and I'm sure it will not be his last!

Thank you to Martina at Midas Public Relations for my gifted copy.