The First Casualty cover art

The First Casualty

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The First Casualty

By: Ben Elton
Narrated by: Glen McCready
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

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?

As the gap between legally-sanctioned and illegal murder becomes ever more blurred, Kingsley quickly learns that the first casualty when war comes is truth.

©2005 Ben Elton (P)2009 Random House Audio Historical Mystery Thriller & Suspense Crime Fiction Murder War Exciting Scary

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Forgotten Voices of the Great War cover art
Time and Time Again cover art
Meltdown cover art
Blind Faith cover art
Past Mortem cover art
High Society cover art
Identity Crisis cover art
Chart Throb cover art
The Brief cover art
Tell Me It's Not True cover art
O Brother cover art
A Man with One of Those Faces cover art
The Final Game cover art
Goodbye Piccadilly cover art
Disaster Inc cover art
Ordinary Heroes cover art
All stars
Most relevant
The portrail of the characters by the narrator was exceptional.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book which, although references the politics of the time, and allows the customary rant by Mr Elton, mainly deals with conscience and duty.
Absolutely brilliant.

One of Ben Elton's best.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Probably the best book of Elton’s I have read or listened to great stuff
Very moving

What a great listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
wow ben elton. fantastic writer. echoes/phrases of blackadder. loved it. u are a pure genius

brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A brilliant and gripping book. Beautifully read. I highly recommend it. Ben Elton is a fantastic author.

Tiz. United Arab Emirates.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Somewhat far fetched but really enjoyable, covers a wide variety of opinions of war. The plot moves on at a pace and the discussions between characters is well developed. Would recommend.

Well worth a listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews