Princes Gate by Mark Ellis

When a brilliant émigré scientist is killed by a hit and run driver and a young woman’s body is washed up in the Thames, Merlin and his team must investigate. The woman is an employee of the American Embassy, whose Ambassador at this time is Joseph Kennedy. DCI Merlin’s investigation of diplomats at the Embassy ruffles feathers at the Foreign Office – the American Ambassador is a well-known supporter of appeasement and many powerful and influential Britons favour the pursuit of a negotiated peace settlement with Hitler. The death of another Embassy employee leads Merlin into some of the seedier quarters of wartime London where a corrupt night-club owner, various high-flying diplomats and the Ambassador himself appear to be linked to the events surrounding the deaths.

Merlin has to pursue his detective work under the interfering supervision of an Assistant Metropolitan Commissioner who is fearful about the impact of Merlin’s investigations on Anglo-American relations at a time when America represents to many Britain’s only hope of salvation. Capturing the atmosphere of Britain in 1940 during the ‘phoney war’ when, although war rages on the Continent, life continues relatively peacefully in Britain, Princes Gate is an enthralling detective novel.

Princes Gate is an intriguing novel, a crime thriller and police procedural, set predominately in London at a time when the World – or rather Britain –  is waiting with baited breath for the inevitable bombing that will ensue. Neville Chamberlain is in office and Hitler, showing no signs of capitulating, is receiving a fair share of support from Foreign Office dignitaries, high society and politicians alike. When the bodies of two low level and insignificant American Embassy employees are discovered, Detective Chief Inspector Frank Merlin is called in to investigate much to the chagrin of the Foreign Office.

One of the things I found fascinating about Princes Gate was the support Adolf Hitler garnered from a handful of Ellis’s characters – the dinner party brigade rather than the working class – and it all led to a healthy difference of opinion being brandished throughout the novel. However, Ellis does balance things out and is careful not to go down the route of offering unconditional support to Hitler!

I was saying this war is a stupid mistake. It’s not Herr Hitler we should be fighting. It’s the communists and socialists we need to worry about. We should be working with Hitler, not against him.

Yet on the other hand sanity prevails and to counter the Fuhrer’s support Nancy Swinton – during the very same dinner party – delivers an interesting retort:

I’m afraid, aunt, you’ll have to speak for yourself there. I can’t believe that any sensible person would wish to be friends with Hitler. What about his cruelty, the lack of liberty, the fanatical hatred. Look at the way the Jews have been treated. Mr Churchill says….

Given that Princes Gate is not only Ellis’s debut but an introduction to the Frank Merlin series it will come as no surprise that the author has taken a great deal of time creating likeable and moreish characters, introducing a number of key relationships that I can certainly see growing with each publication.

There were two relationships I found worked above and beyond – Merlin’s friendship with Jack Stewart his friend and drinking pal and the humorous working relationship between Merlin and his superior – Assistant Commissioner Gatehouse. However hard I tried I couldn’t get RD Wingfield’s Inspector Frost and Supt Mullet partnership out of my head and I have to confess their meetings left me chuckling on numerous occasions.

Merlin is a fascinating protagonist. A likeable chap, he comes across as a rather quirky yet respected character who demands little from life following the untimely death of his wife. Selling their house and moving in to meagre lodgings he pays little or no attention to his appearance – including a sizeable hole in his shoe – he can’t hold his drink and eats far too many fishermen friends, but one thing he does have in his favour is an ability to do his job well. Although well established in his role as detective I did feel he grew as a character as the book matured.

Ellis does a wonderful job of creating an atmosphere as thick as any 1940’s London pea souper you may find and I have to admit once I’d read the opening chapters, I was well and truly hooked. The novel has a certain charm about it, one I found incredibly endearing, thanks mainly to well-developed characterisation and a fluent narrative.

I’m a sucker for a good police procedural and Princes Gate certainly doesn’t disappoint in that regard. The book takes a look at how detectives investigated crimes in 1940, all fascinating stuff, and watching Merlin and his colleagues tackle nefarious individuals hell-bent on profiting from salacious acts is highly entertaining.

Princes Gate is a novel that makes you want to read – you can’t ask more from a book. As I’ve already mentioned above the narrative is fluid and although a little over 300 pages in length, Ellis packs a fair amount of detail between the covers. Reading in two fairly lengthy sittings I struggled to put the book down and I can’t wait to see what becomes of Frank Merlin, his colleagues and his friends in the next adventure.

Published by Matador Princes Gate is available in Kindle and Hardcover format