New York Noir meets the Ten Commandments in action-packed mystery story...

***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.

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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

"'The First Stone is a knockout debut with the confidence to establish its world gradually ... Strange's sardonic wit makes him the perfect guide to his troublingly familiar landscape'" - 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