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      The First Casualty

      by Ben Elton
      Published
      Jan 2006
      Main Genre
      Suspense Suspense
      Rating
      Pages
      419
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      About This Book

      'A work of formidable imaginative scope' Daily Telegraph

      The first casualty when war comes is truth . . .

      Flanders, June 1917: a British officer and celebrated poet, is shot dead. ,

      He is killed not by German fire, but while recuperating from shell shock well behind the lines.

      A young English soldier is arrested and, although he protests his innocence, charged with his murder.

      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?

      Genres & Themes

      Genres

      Suspense

      Subgenres

      Historical

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      Paperback

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      May 2006 Black Swan (UK) ISBN13 9780552771306 ISBN10 0552771309
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      Nov 2005 Transworld (UK) ISBN13 9780593051122 ISBN10 0593051122
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      Mass Market Paperback
      Mar 2007 Black Swan (UK) ISBN13 9780552773362 ISBN10 0552773360
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      Hardcover

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      First Edition Jan 2006 Transworld (UK) ISBN13 9780593051115 ISBN10 0593051114
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      eBook

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      Nov 2012 Transworld (UK) ISBN13 9781448167517 ISBN10 1448167515
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      Nov 2012 Transworld (UK) ISBN10 B00A8FXTR8
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      Audio

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      audible.com (abridged)
      Nov 2005 Random House AudioBooks ISBN10 B0032N8OFK
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      Nov 2005 Random House AudioBooks ISBN10 B000C1X8P6
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      Jan 2006 Random House ISBN13 9781856868365 ISBN10 1856868362
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      Mar 2006 ISIS Audio Books ISBN13 9780753125021 ISBN10 0753125021
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      Mar 2006 ISIS Audio Books ISBN13 9780753135143 ISBN10 0753135140
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      Mar 2011 Random House AudioBooks ISBN10 B004RAIV8W
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      Aug 2011 ISIS Audio Books ISBN13 9781445012308 ISBN10 1445012308
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