,
Discover new books on Goodreads
See if your friends have read any of Mark Ellis's books
Mark   Ellis

more photos (2)


#14 most followed
year in books

Mark Ellis’s Followers (2,846)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
Sarah
4,571 books | 282 friends

Gaynor ...
242 books | 747 friends

Richard...
803 books | 555 friends

Catherine
2,871 books | 274 friends

Julian ...
4,529 books | 4,578 friends

Cameron...
948 books | 2,687 friends

Yves Fey
563 books | 1,202 friends

P. Hirson
41 books | 675 friends

More friends…

Mark Ellis

Goodreads Author


Born
in The United Kingdom
Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences
Patricia Highsmith, Georges Simenon, Agatha Christie and all the Golde ...more

Member Since
November 2011


Former barrister and businessman from Wales. Writer, podcaster, historian. CWA Dagger nominee. 2025 HWA Gold Crown Judge. Winner of the Bloody Barnes Cob And Pen Literary Award for Best Crime Novel 2025.

Author of 6 books in the Frank Merlin WW2 detective series:
Princes Gate (1) now retitled The Embassy Murders
Stalin’s Gold (2) now retitled In The Shadows Of The Blitz
Merlin At War (3) now retitled The French Spy
A Death In Mayfair (4)
Dead In The Water (5)
Death Of An Officer (6)

Some reviews of the Merlin series:
‘Immersive, authentic, evocative’ Fiinancial Times
‘Must-read for murder mystery lovers’ Daily Mail
‘Masterly….compelling’ Bestselling historian Andrew Roberts'
‘Unputdownable’ WW2 historian Robert Lyman
‘Dead In The Water is to my shame t
...more

To ask Mark Ellis questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Mark Ellis Hi Karen. From an early age the thing that has given me the greatest pleasure is reading books. This naturally led me to wanting to write my own books…moreHi Karen. From an early age the thing that has given me the greatest pleasure is reading books. This naturally led me to wanting to write my own books. For many years I was too busy in my legal and business career to write but I have finally got to a position when I have the time to do so and I am thoroughly enjoying it!(less)
Mark Ellis Hi Andrew. I wrote it so it could be read as a standalone novel and several reviewers have commented that they didn't feel at a loss from not having r…moreHi Andrew. I wrote it so it could be read as a standalone novel and several reviewers have commented that they didn't feel at a loss from not having read the first book. Obviously I am writing a series which does involve the development of various characters as the series progresses. A number of readers have said they read the 2 books in the wrong order without loss of enjoyment.(less)
Average rating: 4.27 · 12,129 ratings · 554 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors
Death of an Officer (The DC...

4.32 avg rating — 6,091 ratings — published 2025 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Embassy Murders

4.20 avg rating — 3,235 ratings — published 2011 — 19 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
In the Shadows of the Blitz...

4.20 avg rating — 1,627 ratings — published 2014 — 18 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
The French Spy

4.32 avg rating — 750 ratings — published 2017 — 4 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
A Death In Mayfair (DCI Fra...

4.25 avg rating — 225 ratings — published 2019 — 12 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Dead In The Water (DCI Fran...

4.32 avg rating — 180 ratings — published 2022 — 5 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Boom Time: True Crime in WW...

4.80 avg rating — 20 ratings — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
More books by Mark Ellis…

A Death In Mayfair

DCI Frank Merlin 4, A Death In Mayfair, is being published by Headline Accent two weeks today, Thursday November 21st. ‘One of the best...alive with vivid depictions of Britain at war.’ Shots Magazine
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 07, 2019 06:38 • Tags: new-frank-merlin-book
The Embassy Murders In the Shadows of the Blitz... The French Spy A Death In Mayfair Dead In The Water Death of an Officer
(6 books)
by
4.27 avg rating — 12,102 ratings

Agrippa
Mark Ellis is currently reading
by Robert Harris (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 
A Tour Through Th...
Rate this book
Clear rating

 
Nightshade
Mark Ellis is currently reading
by Michael Connelly (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 

Mark’s Recent Updates

Mark Ellis rated a book it was amazing
A Death In Mayfair by Mark   Ellis
Rate this book
Clear rating
Mark Ellis is currently reading
Agrippa by Robert Harris
Agrippa
by Robert Harris (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
Mark Ellis rated a book it was amazing
A Quiet Place by Seichō Matsumoto
Rate this book
Clear rating
Mark Ellis rated a book it was amazing
Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seichō Matsumoto
Rate this book
Clear rating
Mark Ellis rated a book it was amazing
In the Shadows of the Blitz by Mark   Ellis
Rate this book
Clear rating
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Mark Ellis rated a book it was amazing
The Woman Who Laughed by Simon Mason
Rate this book
Clear rating
Mark Ellis is currently reading
A Tour Through The Whole Island of Great Britain by Daniel Defoe
Rate this book
Clear rating
Mark Ellis answered a question about Death of an Officer:
Death of an Officer by Mark   Ellis
No. All Merlin books are written on a stand alone basis.
Mark Ellis is currently reading
Nightshade by Michael Connelly
Nightshade
by Michael Connelly (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
Mark Ellis is currently reading
The Bookseller by Tim  Sullivan
Rate this book
Clear rating
More of Mark's books…
Quotes by Mark Ellis  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Crete, May 1941. It was nearly five o’clock when the three soldiers reached the end of the olive grove. The dust-filled air shimmered in the late-afternoon heat. Their bodies ached, their uniforms were caked with dirt and sweat and they were hungry, thirsty and exhausted. The sensible thing now would be to lay up where they were for a few hours’ rest, then finish the journey under cover of darkness. But there was a tight deadline to meet. The evacuation vessel was scheduled to leave at midnight and they had been warned the captain wouldn’t wait for stragglers.”
― Mark Ellis, The French Spy

“He didn’t give a damn for the defeatist Kennedy, or indeed for that stuffed-shirt Chamberlain, whom Hitler had comprehensively hoodwinked. Nothing should stand in the way of a murder investigation, however lowly the victim. No doubt Joan’s fate would seem unimportant in the greater scheme of things whenever the Luftwaffe got round to bombing London, but that was nothing to him. It was his job to seek out the truth behind her death, regardless.”
― Mark Ellis, Princes Gate

“I’m a policeman, he thought, not a moral judge, nor a Peeping Tom.”
― Mark Ellis, The Embassy Murders

Topics Mentioning This Author

“Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was not used to feeling intimidated. It was rather his job in life to intimidate others.”
― Mark Ellis, Stalin's Gold

1219146 The book you like most — 51328 members — last activity 25 minutes ago
This group (ranked in the TOP 100 most popular groups on Goodreads) is dedicated to the "Vision and Story" project. Additionally, the group THE BOOK ...more
84674 Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers — 27558 members — last activity 2 hours, 33 min ago
Welcome! Join us for our monthly group reads. We read Crime stories, Mysteries, & Thrillers. ...more
19126 The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group — 33073 members — last activity 6 minutes ago
“It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky. Rain spattered a mysterious, hooded stranger who peered over the ...more
133908 BOOKBUSTERS | BookClub — 2926 members — last activity Jun 15, 2025 01:50PM
ANYONE (booktuber or not) can join! Each month, we will read a young adult book that corresponds to a genre on our "genre calendar". Then, we'll have ...more
220 Goodreads Librarians Group — 347715 members — last activity 0 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
37892 Minotaur Book Club — 271 members — last activity Mar 31, 2017 01:24PM
Hello, mystery and thriller lovers! Join us as we read and discuss a new Minotaur release each month.
More of Mark’s groups…
Comments (showing 1-1)    post a comment »
dateDown arrow    newest »

message 1: by P.

P. Hirson Hi....Mark Ellis.... great to be your friend...p hirson


back to top