Stay-Alive Runs Away

The 1st Jonas Forbes Thriller
This is set in 1954 Kenya, before Jonas became an ‘Enquiry Agent’. After serving in the Korean War, Jonas leaves the army and, bored with civilian life, becomes a Police Inspector in Kenya, then struggling in the Mau Mau Emergency. Police and army may have a high degree of integration in this struggle but sometimes their objectives differ markedly.
Stay-Alive Johnson is a soldier so troubled by the crimes of some of his fellows led by a sociopathic sergeant that he runs away. Jonas leads a patrol to recapture the deserter, which includes some with a special reason for hunting him down. Johnson is recaptured and dies in suspicious circumstances.
Meanwhile the fight against Mau Mau goes on, including some mistreatment of the civilian population, and the wholesale rounding up of ‘suspects’ - and their mass internment, proving a great recruiting sergeant for Mau Mau. On the other hand, isolated settlers are butchered and an atmosphere of terror leads to mistreatment and injustice. Some victims of Mau Mau atrocities, like Karl Langer, are cruel employers but others, like the Tallyrand family are murdered because of their race or possessions. Many victims of Mau Mau are native Africans and some are forced into joining in acts of terror through demonic oath-taking ceremonies.
On all sides there is disunion, distrust and rivalries – within the police, between white settlers, among the native peoples and even between Mau Mau leaders. Such conflicts lead to tragedy and for the survivors, including Jonas Forbes, a lesson in survival.
This novel involves historical research into the chaos growing out of a struggle against colonial authority.