Merlin at War
Detective Chief Inspector Frank Merlin is on the job again in wartime London in the third novel in the series. This time he faces a triple mystery. Wealthy businessman turned soldier Simon Arbuthnot has been killed in action on the island of Crete, leaving a cryptic message concerning the disposition of his estate—an estate for which his Greek business partner, a crooked London casino owner, and other associates and relatives might be willing to commit murder. At the same time, a young Irish girl dies in a cheap hotel, apparently during a botched abortion. Third, someone at the Free French headquarters in London is passing secret information to the Vichy government and the Nazis. DCI Merlin and his team, plus an on-loan Jewish detective from the New York force, hit every angle of the three cases in an effort that requires all of the team’s skills. Keeping the home fires burning for widower Merlin in all this is his attractive, undemanding Polish refugee girlfriend, Sonia.
Author Ellis has crafted a complex plot with a multitude of characters, and he manages to bring everything together in a satisfying conclusion. The sheer number of characters may bring confusion at times. His characters ring true, but he doesn’t delve very deeply into them. That is not a particularly significant shortcoming, though, in a plot-driven novel like this. The author handles the setting very well, making the reader comfortable in 1941 London while not giving an overdose of historical details. The story as a whole, in fact, could be described as comfortable, a good book to settle in with in one’s favorite easy chair.
