The much-anticipated third novel by Mark Mills had a hard act to follow. His second, The Savage Garden was a huge bestseller.

Mills has chosen wartime Malta in 1942 as the setting for his new book, another crime thriller. In the story line the people of Malta are suffering daily bombing raids and the British are their last line of defence against the Nazis.

It is Max Clifford’s job as information officer to ensure the news that filters through to the islanders maintains morale.

When he receives information suggesting a British officer is murdering local women, he’s placed in a dilemma. On the one hand, it’s his patriotic duty to ensure the natives’ faith in their protectors doesn’t waver. On the other hand, he has a personal duty to track down the killer but he has to do this in a clandestine way, keeping his efforts a secret from his superiors and even from the woman he loves.

Mills convincingly captures the very British world of the occupying authority and the transient ex-pat community in which they live.

The Information Officer (HarperCollins) will not have the same popular appeal as its predecessor. Nonetheless, its generous helping of mysteries, menace and intrigue will ensure that readers enjoy it on its own merits.