I thought that it was going to be another one of those boring books you had to read for school but in the end i actually enjoyed it :)

A ripping yarn, indeed. I enjoyed this story a great deal. I can't speak to historical accuracy at all, although aside from what seemed to be some out of place turns of phrase I thought that the grit and emotion of the war was quite palpable.

The murder mystery takes up a smaller portion of the book than you would expect and doesn't actually begin until at least a third of the way in. But there's plenty of great character building and the lead in to it is rather engaging.

There were two or maybe three preposterous scenarios which didn't seem plausible but that's artistic license for you and it did add to the adventure. Despite the miserable setting, this story did keep a high spirited sense of adventure throughout.

This is my second Elton story and just like the first time, I had pegged the murderer right away. The First Casualty was nonetheless a pleasure to read and for the few days that I was engaged with it I was genuinely thrilled to keep it open.

Ben Elton never dissapoints, his range is so wide, deals with many topics, very well reasearched


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

I've read this book before and I really like it. Such a good plot and it moves at a great pace. It's the story of a man who has the courage of his convictions - a very good thing in a policeman, perhaps less so in a husband. If you only read one first world war novel, perhaps this should be it.

Whilst not being a classic in my view, this novel, the second book I have read of Ben Elton is extremely enjoyable. I found it the sort of book that you were driven to find the outcome but also enjoyed the journey getting there.
Elton writes simply in my opinion. Few frills, but his method of introducing and developing characters is very effective. The decisions that the majority of the characters make are understandable and allow the reader keep in cinque with the plot. Like Two Brothers, the story is linked to historical facts and the horror of war is regularly reinforced. Having a grandfather who fought in the conflict and at times in Ypres, I found myself regularly asking the question “was this the type of experience my Mum’s father had?”
Elton allows the characters to do things that perhaps are surprising and not always acceptable, but I find that this makes the story all the more realistic. His characters seem real and are allowed to make mistakes or cross the line of morality. I have enjoyed the two books of Elton so much I shall certainly be searching out some more to read in the near future.

World War 1 is one of those periods in history in which I've long had a particular interest so I hoped for much from this novel. I wasn't disappointed. Characterisations are well-constructed, the plot is a clever one and the sense of the period and the conditions are effectively evoked throughout. Recommended. And it kept me absorbed until 3.40 a.m. when I couldn't sleep.

Inhumanity of WW1

An interesting discourse on the tragic and pointless loss of life and the residue of suffering for those who survived WW1,all woven into an absorbing fiction. However, too many clichéd characters for a 5 star evaluation.

Very enjoyable read. The details of the action on the front are very vivid, it almost feel like you are right there. From memory, only one other book I've read set in WWI comes close to this detail - Birdsong.
A unique type of mystery story set during WWI, with some romance thrown in.

Found the book fascinating. Very thought provoking. What a terrible position Douglas finds himself a conscientious previously and a detective he is put into jail with people he'd apprehended. His inmates are setting out to kill him for his past until he's past off dad to be used by the government to find out whether a vis counts death was murder. He finds out it is murder by using his detective skills and reports back the same. Of course his family believe him dead because that's what they had been told however he turns up at his home taking the indenting of his brother as he has no identity and his brother had been killed on the battlefield. Left me wondering just how much has been covered up in the war !! Enjoyed the book

Without giving too much away this is set during the first world war 1917 the main character is s Police Inspector currently serving in the Metropolitan Police considered to be the best Detective in the force, however he has been called up to serve his country, but being a conscientious objector refuses to enlist, and after a trial is sent to Wandsworth prison for two years, however a murder has occurred at the front, which the Army tried to cover up, so the case requires investigation, so who do they call for ????????????????????????????????? read it to find out, a brilliant read, first book I have read by the author Ben Elton (Comedian), a real page turner which keeps you enthralled and guessing right up until the end, a highly recommended read for anyone interested in crime and not just the military.

This is certainly a change of direction Ben Elton.
I was pleased for Elton that he is able to mute his very distinctive comic voice and let the story tell itself. Well, most of the time. There were only a few passages that screamed ‘Ben Elton’, where you could picture him regaling an audience with the text as an anecdote. One such example had me laughing out loud. The main character is amongst a group of foot soldiers who are discussing how the war began:

‘The question I always asks is, why did anyone give a fuck about this bleeding Archduke Ferdinand what’s-his-face in the first place?’ one fellow said. ‘I mean, come on, nobody had even heard of the cunt till he got popped off. Now the entire fucking world is fighting ‘cos of it.’

‘You dozy arse,’ another man admonished, ‘that was just a bleeding spark, that was. It was a spark. Europe was a tinder box, wasn’t it? Everyone knows that.’

[...]

‘What about us then?’ the first man enquired. The rest of the group seemed to feel that this was the crux of it.

‘Entente bleeding cordiale, mate,’ the corporal replied. ‘We was backing the French except it wasn’t like an alliance – it was just, well, it was a bleedin’ entente, wasn’t it.’

‘An what’s an entente when it’s at home?’

‘It means we wasn’t obliged to fight.’

Ultimately a bit of a disappointment, for reasons that are sadly spoilerific but involves characters and the plot working against type to deliver a conclusion that is in places rather convenient and occasionally downright nonsensenical. A shame. Ben Elton clearly knows his stuff about life and warcraft in the trenches of World War One, and his writing is at its strongest - it's good work, very evocative - when describing the sheer grind of being on the front.