Cut and Run

by Alec Marsh

March 1916.

The Great War rages across Europe.

In the British Army garrison town of Bethune in northern France, a woman’s body is found in a park. Her throat has been cut.

Marie-Louise Toulon is a prostitute at the Blue Lamp, the brothel catering exclusively to officers of the British Army stationed in the area.

Wounded ex-soldier Frank Champion is brought in to investigate the crime - to find the killer believed to be among the officer corps.

But almost before his investigation gets underway another woman from the Blue Lamp is killed, her throat also cut. A third prostitute, meanwhile, has gone missing.

Then two more bodies are uncovered, including that of a British Army captain who appears to have taken his own life with his service revolver. But all is not what it seems…

Champion must face a race against time to save the life of another woman - at the risk of dying himself.

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2024

Reviews

[Peter Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story highlights the futility of war but centres on the unnecessary loss of life, of men sent to their death by generals insulated from the consequences of their decisions.

Ex-serviceman Frank Champion, who was injured in the fighting, has been invalided out of the army and is now a poacher and small-time fisherman. His colonial service in East Africa means he has the necessary investigative skill set, so is pressed back to assist as a civilian investigator in British held France. The investigation is that most base of crimes, the murder of a prostitute. The victim herself is deemed of little worth, a widespread view within the story, though not by Frank, and sadly an attitude that prevails in many today. The investigation is taking place because clues would appear to implicate a British serviceman and the recognition that such killers rarely stop at one. Here the author has managed to capture the callous actions of the user to perfection.

Also highlighted is the paradox that brothels were not official recognised, but still accepted as a lesser evil should sexually frustrated soldier resort to rape. Then there is the hypocrisy of different brothels for officers who visit the Blue Lamp whilst the non-commissioned officers and rank and file use the Red Lamp, with very different standards. Proof being that even at such sordid levels the class system still operated. It will become clear that not all officers are gentlemen. The local mayor considered the women to be patriots, good honest townsfolk doing their bit for the war effort, though as the story progresses such comments can be viewed in a different light. However, the author treats them with dignity throughout.

Frank Champion is an interesting character, worthy of a novel series. Experienced and perhaps a little world weary, he is a damaged man from his experiences within the trenches, both physically and mentally. He has witnessed the savagery of war first hand and like many struggles with survivor guilt, why did he survive whilst his comrades died. Intelligent and well read, he has developed socialist leanings but remains a pragmatic man. This can be seen as he tries to help the women, he can’t save them all but just saving one is better than doing nothing. Most of all managed to preserve his humanity and morality through it all.

This is not a long novel and moves along at a decent pace, yet never feels hurried. There are some fantastic descriptive passages that really capture the location for the reader and bring some colour to a dark, drab tale. It is evocative of the time too, with just the simple prop of pipe smoking standing out, then so common but a hundred years later exceedingly rare. Sometimes less is more in these cases and here the author has measure it to perfection.

Any story that has prostitutes being murdered there is going to be bloodshed, but the violence takes the form of some suitably brutal (and satisfying) fight scenes. Frank is up against some of the very worst of humanity and no quarter is given. If you love thrillers with the occasional injection of explosive aggression, you won’t be disappointed, although the overall tone is one of the bad things man does to his fellow man. In its finality it is a question of whether good can prevail over evil and ends up taking some unexpected turns.

Cut and Run is a pitch perfect historical mystery that delivers thrills whilst being absorbing and thought provoking.

[Steve Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alec Marsh's Cut and Run plunges readers into World War I France, offering a gripping murder mystery set behind the lines.

Here is my full book review for the superb thriller: https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/ste...

[Michael Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great pace was really good to understand the other aspects of the great war and the madness of the whole thing

[Mike Kanner · Rating 1 out of 5]

As the author noted in the epilogue, this story had little to do with World War 1, which was the reason that I decided to read it.

I had a hard time feeling connected to any of the characters, especially the victims, which made it difficult to care about the outcome. There are some good action scenes, but much of the book is bogged down with the main character traveling from one place to another or long descriptions of locations.

There were several times when I thought about quitting and could not tell you why I finished it.