The First Stone: Dystopian crime noir with a killer twist
Elliott Hall
***Perfect for fans of Black Mirror and The Handmaid's Tale***
America has been redeemed.
Felix Strange, veteran of a disastrous war in the Middle East, has returned to his native New York, to find his home nation changed. With a Christian extremist administration in the White House, and the Crusade of Love preparing the Untied States for the Second Coming, a new America is about to be born.
When a high-ranking preacher is found dead, Strange is tasked with bringing his murderer to justice. But what begins as a routine investigation will soon reveal the terrifying ways in which America is lurching towards totalitarianism itself.
The First Stone is the first novel in Elliott Hall's cult hit Strange Trilogy: the eerily prescient series which foresaw the advent of new puritanism, and the rise of the American right.
************
Praise for The First Stone
'The First Stone is a knockout . . . Strange's sardonic wit makes him the perfect guide to his troublingly familiar landscape' - Guardian
'Ingenious and witty' - Daily Telegraph
'Outstanding' - Independent
'Wonderful' - The Times
'An ingenious twist . . . Hall's novel combines pacy storytelling with a disturbing dystopian vision' - Mail on Sunday
Product Details
About Elliott Hall
Reviews for The First Stone: Dystopian crime noir with a killer twist
Guardian
'This debut crime novel is best read under a sweltering sun . . . against a deftly drawn backdrop, it is ingenious and witty'
Daily Telegraph
'In many ways the most intriguing of new John Murray crop ... Strange is a very sympathetic hero, who does what private eyes do best by stirring the hornets' nest (and these are some pretty whacky hornets) and a fabulous sense of pace is engendered from page one. This is a very impressive first thriller indeed. More are promised; or if they're not, should be'
Shots
'The prose style is smooth and entertaining ... Hall's world-building remains excellent throughout, creating a truly unsettling future America'
SFX Magazine
'A sharp and original debut novel'
Tangled Web
'It's a really good, traditional private eye story in its own right, coupled with a subtle and believable picture of a fundamentalist state'
Morning Star
'A menacing portrait of an all too plausible future ... a very readable, fast-paced thriller'
The Big Issue
'An outstanding first novel by a new Canadian author we should hear more of'
Independent
'A debut novel of considerable quality and great imagination'
reviewing the evidence.com
'An ingenious twist ... The first in a trilogy, Hall's novel combines pacy storytelling with a disturbing dystopian vision'
Mail on Sunday