If like me you’ve become addicted to the stories of DCI Frank Merlin then this account of the reality of crime in wartime Britain is definitely for you - or for anyone with an interest in the social history of WW2. With a novelist's eye for telling human detail, Mark Ellis brings the secret and often sordid history of wartime Britain to light, peering into the darkest corners of the blackout. This often hair-raising collection of true crime stories reminds us that wars have always provided ample opportunities for villains, spivs, murderers and racketeers, and that ration-book Britain was no exception.