The First Casualty
Ben Elton
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars
3.92
· 29 ratings · 452 pages · Published: 26 Mar 2005
Douglas Kingsley is a conscientious objector, previously a detective with the London police, now imprisoned for his beliefs. He is released and sent to France in order to secure a conviction. Forced to conduct his investigations amidst the hell of The Third Battle of Ypres, Kingsley soon discovers that both the evidence and the witnesses he needs are quite literally disappearing into the mud that surrounds him.
Ben Elton's tenth novel is a gut-wrenching historical drama which explores some fundamental questions. What is murder? What is justice in the face of unimaginable daily slaughter? And where is the honour in saving a man from the gallows if he is only to be returned to die in a suicidal battle?
As the gap between legally-sanctioned and illegal murder becomes evermore blurred, Kingsley quickly learns that the first casualty when war comes is truth.
Tagged as:
- thriller 4
- historical 3
- historical fiction 3
- war/big battles 3
- mystery 3
- world war I 3
- crime 3
- funny 3
- law enforcement 2
- comedy 2
- satire 2
- military 2
- whodunit 2
- literary fiction 1
- suspense 1
- action / adventure 1
- military, war & conflict 1
- 20th century 1
- Add topics
- content warnings
- death / grief 2
- format - reader age
- book 1
- adult fiction 1