London. Spring 1943. While Europe continues to suffer under the iron fist of Nazi occupation, Britain remains battered but unbowed.

DCI Frank Merlin, already contending with a booming wartime crime wave in the capital, is confronted with a baffling case: the brutal murder of a respected doctor.

Following a puzzling trail that leads him into the hidden corners of clubland - and which appears to be linked to the disappearance of both British and American officers - Merlin must untangle a dark web of shocking secrets.

''This is to my shame the first Mark Ellis book I''ve read. If the others evoke a vanished London so impressively, are graced with such complex plots and deep characterisation, and, above all, are written so well I shall have to read them all.'' THE TIMES

''An atmospheric, compelling evocation of war-torn London in the wake of the Blitz, where DCI Frank Merlin fights against a tidal wave of crime'' GEOFFREY WANSELL, Crime and Thriller Reviewer, DAILY MAIL

''Unputdownable'' ROBERT LYMAN

''Mark Ellis delivers diamonds - an intriguing, masterly juggling of an intricate plot and an enviable command of detail.'' JOHN LAWTON

''Extraordinarily atmospheric and compelling, DEAD IN THE WATER is a wonderfully intelligent and complex story'' CHRIS LLOYD, HWA Gold Crown Award winner.

''...historical noir at its best. Mark Ellis''s talents as a writer are many; finely embroidered plotting, a meticulously researched historical context and place, and rounded characters whose lives and capers become real for a reader'' GARY DONNELLY

''A very satisfying puzzle, expertly crafted'' HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY

Praise for the DCI Frank Merlin series:

''Masterly . . . compelling . . . one of the most attractive characters to emerge in recent detective-thriller fiction'' ANDREW ROBERTS, SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

''Against the backdrop of Blitz-hit London, this stylish thriller sees Scotland Yard''s Frank Merlin investigate a tangled conspiracy'' SUNDAY MIRROR