Episode 85: Historical crime fiction - it’s all in the details - with Mark Ellis

The sales figures bear this out: historical crime fiction is on the rise. This week we speak to one of the modern masters of the art, Mark Ellis, author of the superb Frank Merlin series set in World War Two. Originally from Swansea, Mark studied at Cambridge, became a barrister, then moved into banking before becoming a computing entrepreneur. The sale of his company has allowed him to follow his passion for writing, with his first Frank Merlin novel Princes Gate published in 2011. His latest Merlin novel, Dead in the Water was released in May this year. As Mark explains to The Hobcast Book Show, he takes several months to research each novel to ensure that his books reflect accurately actual wartime events; one mistake can easily destroy a reader's trust in the author's credibility.

Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca react to the shocking attack on Sir Salman Rushdie, and also examine some surprising data about the state of British publishing as a whole.