March, 1916, and 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.
Cut and Run by Alec Marsh is published on 12 November, 2024.
Alec has written about French ‘official’ brothels for Historia; his feature will be out in December.
Our list of over 190 books coming out this year may give you some more historical fiction reading ideas.
