Espionage – Lit World Interviews

Book Review of Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis.

Where to begin? Dead in the Water is a story of 1942 WW2. London with ramifications beyond. London has been bombed to a shell of itself with Anglo-Spanish DCI Frank Merlin continuing to his mission to protect the city from not only the criminal element within but any such characters that wander in from outside the nations borders.

A body found floating in the Thames. Missing art. Stolen or otherwise. Who’s to know? That’s Merlin’s job.

There are many layers to what Ellis has done here. You have the married couple of Frank Merlin and his wife with their young son. You have families that have sought refuge in London from Poland and Germany.

There are deserters from armies, gangsters willing to take advantage of any situation.

And all of that’s just the obvious on the surface elements.

Of course you then have the spies. Who all do they work for? Where do they come from?

You read reviews about how a writer weaves the different stories in a book into one overall story. That’s not one of my favorite ways of describing a book but in this case… unless I use a thesaurus, weaving is what Ellis has done.

The seemingly separate story lines, some are separate, obviously, but many will at some point link together as you might expect in a mystery like this. If not, then all those sub plots would be useless. But here, pay attention and you start to piece things together.

There are surprises to be experienced, not just by the reader but by the characters as well. A bit of Agatha Christie if you will.

As for the setting for the book. WW2 history is my specialty. It’s what I primarily studied and taught. There is a lot to learn from what Ellis gives us in Dead in the Water that you won’t necessarily learn in a classroom. You don’t get what life was like on a daily basis in London during this time. You don’t consider that life goes on, crimes happen, police have a job to do. Love happens, betrayal, affairs. Anything and everything. And you don’t consider that during wartime on an island nation like Britain that some would take advantage of their fellow suffering citizens.

Dead in the Water is not only entertaining and good paced read, it’s also a learning experience.

I give it a 4 out of 5.

About the Author:

Mark Ellis is a thriller writer from Swansea and a former barrister and entrepreneur.

He is the creator of DCI Frank Merlin, an Anglo-Spanish police detective operating in World War 2 London. His books treat the reader to a vivid portrait of London during the war skilfully blended with gripping plots, political intrigue and a charismatic protagonist.

Mark grew up under the shadow of his parents’ experience of the Second World War. His father served in the wartime navy and died a young man. His mother told him stories of watching the heavy bombardment of Swansea from the safe vantage point of a hill in Llanelli, and of attending tea dances in wartime London under the bombs and doodlebugs.

In consequence Mark has always been fascinated by WW2 and in particular the Home Front and the fact that while the nation was engaged in a heroic endeavour, crime flourished. Murder, robbery, theft and rape were rife and the Blitz provided scope for widespread looting.

This was an intriguing, harsh and cruel world. This is the world of DCI Frank Merlin.

Mark Ellis’ books regularly appear in the Kindle bestseller charts.

He is published by Headline Accent, an imprint of Headline.

He is a member of Crime Cymru, the Welsh crime writing collective, and of the Crime Writers Association (CWA).

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markell1/

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkEllisAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkEllis15

Book Review of Dead Heat to Destiny by J. B. Rivard.

Destined for success in the booming world of high fashion, young Adrienne Boch deflects the romantic pursuit of Will Marra, an American student in Paris. Her cousin, Gregor Steiner, completes his training as an officer in the Imperial German Navy. They, like the entire world, are unprepared when World War I begins. As the invading German army threatens Paris, Gregor advances to captain a U-boat, Will becomes a pilot in the U.S. Army, and Adrienne’s family flees an overrun Belgium. In Central America, a spy is recruited to defeat the United States. At the climax—during which love hangs in the balance—they meet in a thrilling and emotionally riveting clash.

Spanning 1903-1917, this cinematic novel transports the reader to a variety of stunning locales. With his dedication to historical accuracy and his immersive writing style, Rivard offers readers a front row seat to the early twentieth century’s most compelling events.

A story of possibilities that spans the course of time just a few years prior to the beginning of WWI to the United States declaring war on Germany.

The detail given to each characters environment in regards not only to the physical but also professional and family ties made for an engaging and investing story.

Being a history person myself, by university degree and by writing career, I found the research put in to give the detail needed to provide an immersive read refreshing and most enjoyable.

We travel from Brussels to France and on to the United States, Mexico, and Panama. The main characters of the story are Will Mara, a young man who becomes fascinated with flight, Adrienne Boch, a woman from Brussels who travels to Paris to design haute conture, and her cousin Gregor Steiner, an officer in a German Empire’s U-boat.

The three stories along with the sub-stories head to the inevitable as Germany pushes further to gain control of the Atlantic waters and limit the US semi-secret assistance to Britain.

Something to look for is how the life and opinions of each takes a turn with a moment, be it one of reality or one of misunderstanding, but regardless fueled by environment and personal experience.

I greatly enjoyed the growth of Will Mara from a 13 year old boy who was in love with fast cars and the new world of flight into a young man who falls in love with a beautiful young dress designer and onward into an intelligent and heroic aviator. Through him we see pieces of US history both leading to the US entering WWI but also incursions into Mexico to chase Pancho Villa.

Adrienne grows as well in confidence and as a woman who knows her mind and will get what she wants, although what she wants could possibly change?

And then Gregor. His growth into a U-boat captain is perhaps the most intriguing. From the young man we first meet through the letters shared with his cousin Adrienne to the officer who is dedicated to the German Empire’s cause, the change is shown not to be as easy as one might think.

No one character has a direct path to where they end up. I’ve reviewed another of Rivard’s books and it was excellent but I enjoyed this one even more. It is right in my wheelhouse.

There was only one thing that was a bit difficult to get accustomed to. That is how each character, up to perhaps five, would have their own chapter and view point. But, not always. At first this made me take a bit of time getting into the book. But that happens sometimes with me. Any author needs to lay a little background, and after a few chapters the story really picks up. It’s been called a page-turner and I agree. Once past those first few chapters you are wanting to know who does what, where and why.

If you’ve read my reviews here before you know I enjoy historical novels by Samuel Marquis. He’s one of my favorites. J. B. Rivard is right up there. He has the detail, the pace, and characters worth investing in. You hope some do one thing and not the other. You hope they change their minds. And mind changing might just happen. I’m not going to say too much.

I recommend the story to history buffs, those who enjoy period pieces, and anyone who simply enjoys touch choices made, maybe even young love in a time appropriate manner.

I’ll give it 5 stars out of 5.

Get the book at Amazon 2/7/23. Also check your favorite online service to see if it’s there.

J.B. RIVARD believes words can create pictures. His readers agree; one said, “I was right in the biplane cockpit with Nick,” referring to pilot Nick Mamer, the 1929 record-setting aviator in Rivard’s nonfiction book “Low on Gas – High on Sky.” A writer of historically accurate fiction and nonfiction, J.B. knows readers want the past to blaze up and enthrall them. His commitment to compelling and convincing writing derives from four years in the military as well as his technical career on the staff of a U.S. National Laboratory. A graduate of the University of Florida, he attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, and is an award-winning artist and author. His latest novel is “Dead Heat to Destiny,” in which the lives and loves of three people are imperiled during the cataclysm of World War One. To learn more about J.B.’s life and work, visit www.illusionsofmagic.com

Altar of Resistance by Samuel Marquis.

Altar of Resistance

by Samuel Marquis

Fiction: Historical Thriller/Suspense/Espionage. 368 Pages Print. Mount Sopris Publishing (January 24, 2017)

Author Biography

Samuel Marquis is a bestselling, award-winning suspense author. His books include “The Slush Pile Brigade,” “Blind Thrust,” “The Coalition,” and “Bodyguard of Deception.” He works by day as a VP-Hydrogeologist with an environmental firm in Boulder, Colorado, and by night as an iconoclastic spinner of historical and modern suspense yarns. He also has a deep and abiding interest in military history and intelligence, specifically related to the Golden Age of Piracy, Plains Indian Wars, World War II, and the current War on Terror.

Former Colorado Governor Roy Romer said, “Blind Thrust kept me up until 1 a.m. two nights in a row. I could not put it down. An intriguing mystery that intertwined geology, fracking, and places in Colorado that I know well. Great fun.” Kirkus Reviews proclaimed The Coalition an “entertaining thriller” and declared that “Marquis has written a tight plot with genuine suspense.” James Patterson compared The Coalition to The Day After Tomorrow, the classic thriller by Allan Folsom; and Donald Maas, author of Writing 21st Century Fiction and two novels, compared The Coalition to the classic political assassination thriller The Day of the Jackal.

Book Review

Espionage, intrigue, romance, battle, and more. Altar of Resistance has a difficult time finding one genre to fall into.

To start off with I see myself reading this one again. And I don’t read books more than once very often these days. This is the second of Sam Marquis’ WWII Trilogy, all standalone books, and it’s going to be hard to beat. That third one is going to have to be something else to surpass this one.

Altar of Resistance by Sam Marquis is about the Occupation and Liberation of Rome in 1943-44 Italy. The story is told through the viewpoints of four main characters: Pope Pius XII (sometimes called Hitler’s Pope), SS Colonel Wilhelm Hollman (a character based on fact), US Army Special Services member John Bridger, and Roman Resistance fighter Teresa Di Domenico. The last two are fictional characters, but in the book share a secret with the SS Colonel.

Having been a World History teacher and taken a semester of Nazi/Fascism class I know a little bit about WWII and what happened in Italy. Marquis uses factual events to give his story life or maybe he adds fiction to the facts to make it easier to handle. You read and decide which. Either way you look at it, he brings the subject to life.

We don’t get just a superficial story from Marquis to create a thrilling read. He gives us layers to add dimensions to each character, even the minor ones. He even has you like the Nazi torturer/interrogator at one point. I think Marquis’s fiction elements actually make sense in context of history. We see the Pope silent against atrocities not only throughout Europe but in his own city. Marquis gives us reasons why. SS Colonel Hollmann is based on fact as far as his existence but how he is used and his complexity is believable. He is perhaps my favorite character in the book. John Bridger is a tough Army commando who kills without hesitation but tries to keep his humanity. And Teresa is her father’s daughter, but which father does this good Catholic girl take after?

We see the war and the battle for Rome from every possible level and realize not one could achieve success without the other. We see how a girl leads to the success of the Allies in Italy, not a farfetched idea. We see how love exists and even sprouts during great turmoil, and how it doesn’t die regardless of tragedy.

There are no bogged down moments during this read. I didn’t find myself having a difficult time making my way through a passage to get to the next. The only parts that even remotely slowed me down were later chapters involving the Pope, but that is in part due to the success of the author in the character’s portrayal. Got to love a Pope but man can he be frustrating at times.

The only bad thing about the book is not knowing the future of all the characters. Sam Marquis does give us details of the factual characters and what happens to them, but the fictitious ones perhaps are left unknown because we may seem them some other time?

I’ve read all but one of Sam Marquis’ books. This is his best one yet. If you’ve never read historical fiction, this is a way to start. So far this is my book of the year and I’ve read four so far. It’s going to be difficult to top this one. It had all the elements to keep me engaged.

Review by: Ronovan Hester

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