The Highest Form of Killing

Crookland Bay is an MOD establishment secretly developing chemical warfare. Secrecy - and safety - are threatened when two people find a mutilated dog on a nearby beach then 'disappear in a convenient car accident'. Sylvia, Mark and Derek are drawn into the conspiracy, but their involvement results in disillusionment - and death for Mark and Derek. Malcolm Rose scrupulously presents both sides of the chemical warfare debate, but the same cool formality seeps into his descriptions of the affair between Sylvia and Derek, giving an oddly dated, stilted feel. Recommended for GCSE for the clarity of its opinions and the force of its climax.