Description
Vividly atmospheric and brimming with suspense, Mark Ellis presents this insanely captivating wartime thriller of classic espionage.
The second instalment in the Frank Merlin Series, following on from Princes Gate.
PRAISE FOR THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED DCI FRANK MERLIN SERIES:
‘A richly atmospheric, authentic, and suspenseful detective series‘ – Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author
‘So immaculately nuanced they genuinely feel like they belong in the cannon of mid-20th century thrillers . . . Another belter!’ – Fiona Phillips
‘A truly spellbinding page turner that keeps you hooked right to the end’ – Dorset Book Detective
‘Brimming with action . . . complex, addictive and highly entertaining . . . I cannot wait to read more books by Mark Ellis’ – The Book Cosy Book Club
‘Brimming with authentic details . . . A compelling tale of crime fiction’ – Foreword Reviews
‘A mammoth read with a Dickensian plethora of characters that I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in . . . meticulously researched . . . deliciously complex‘ – CARAMEROLLOVESBOOKS
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December 1938. Moscow.
Josef Stalin has lost some gold. He is not a happy man. He asks his henchman Beria to track it down. September 1940 London.
Above the city the Battle of Britain rages and the bombs rain down. On the streets below, DCI Frank Merlin and his officers investigate the sudden disappearance of Polish RAF pilot Ziggy Kilinski while also battling an epidemic of looting unleashed by the chaos and destruction of the Blitz. Kilinski’s fellow pilots, a disgraced Cambridge don, Stalin’s spies in London, members of the Polish government in exile and a ruthless Russian gangster are amongst those caught up in Merlin’s enquiries. Sweeping from Stalin’s Russia to Civil War Spain, from Aztec Mexico to pre-war Poland, and from Hitler’s Berlin to Churchill’s London a compelling story of treasure, grand larceny, treachery, torture and murder unfolds.
Eventually as Hitler reluctantly accepts that the defiance of the RAF has destroyed his chances of invasion for the moment, a violent shoot-out in Hampstead leads Merlin on the final truth….and Stalin to his gold.
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