Mark Mills, from Tackley, author of three enthralling murder mysteries, was surprised to find me clutching a hardback copy of his latest novel, The Information Officer, when we met to discuss this book.

Apparently, his publisher, Harper Collins printed very few hardback copies this time, because his work sells so well.

Mark’s second novel, The Savage Garden, was selected for the Richard and Judy Summer reads campaign in 2007, which is one of the many reasons why the publishers are confident they now have another Mark Mills hit on their hands.

Mark has set The Information Officer in Malta during 1942, when this strategically important island suffered daily bombing raids from the Luftwaffe. The presence of the British Army represents the islanders’ only hope of defending their lone outpost in Nazi waters.

But the island is being pulverised by the enemy and there’s not enough ammunition or fuel for the British to retaliate in strength. Things are so bad that a British officer, Max Hitchcocke, is assigned to the propaganda and public relations department office set up on the island in an attempt to keep up morale. It’s his job to ensure that the news and statistics that they receive inspires the islanders in their fight. So, when Max learns that a British officer may be murdering local women, he knows what he has to do. Regardless of whether the killings are political or personal, the consequences of discovery are dire. It’s a problem he has to sort, and quickly.

As with Mark’s other novels, the action takes place over a couple of weeks, making it a fast-moving read. He says he hates dragging things out. He is just as impatient to get to the heart of the problem as his readers are.

The authenticity of the details that bring this story to life are due to a little pamphlet which Mark discovered sitting on the dusty shelves of a junk shop. Indeed, this publication, which he purchased for just £1, inspired him to write the novel.

He explained that he was ‘just fishing about’ in the shop when he discovered a serviceman’s memoir.

“It had no title and was just a 60-page pamphlet written as a tribute to the characters on Malta who lived during the Second World War.

“On reading it, I became mesmerised. I had no idea such tensions between the British and the Maltese had existed. Or that things were going so badly on Malta that they really did have a propaganda department.

“The pamphlet opened up a subject that I’d not seen addressed before — all that unspoken resentment, the shortages of ammunition and food. It even told of a time when the RAF cooks actually used engine oil to fry the eggs and bacon for breakfast,” said Mark.

He accepts that there are some excellent authors who can conjure up the atmosphere of an island such as Malta without every visiting it. He doesn’t work like that.

While the pamphlet opened up a new world, he knew he had to visit Malta before the novel could take shape and be given substance. “I just don’t have the confidence needed to describe a town, its roads, apartments and people without first visiting the island. I couldn’t have begun writing it without first-hand knowledge,” he added While visiting Malta, Mark actually picked out the apartment block where his hero would live and then drove down narrow coastal lanes until he found the desolate country house he needed to inject into the plot.

He laughs when he recalls how difficult this proved to be.

“One little coast road I followed was so narrow I had to fold back the wing mirrors to get through. At one point, I really did begin to wonder how on earth I would turn round if the road didn’t widen out.”

It’s because of Mark’s experiences while visiting Malta that The Information Officer is such a rattling good read.

First he does the research, visits the country and then, when he is absolutely sure he has everything firmly established in his mind, he begins writing. The research may take many months, but the writing comes easily. This is not to say that there aren’t times when he finds his characters surprising him by insisting on a larger role than he had planned. But that’s OK. He says a friendly tussle with them as they push their way towards centre stage makes writing a novel particularly rewarding.

* The Information Officer is published by Harper Collins at £20 in hardback and £7.99 in paperback.