23 MARCH 1956, Page 23

THE LAST ENEMY, By Berton Roueche. (Gollancz, 12s. 6d.) Here,

on the other hand, is a consistently chilling tale of how circumstances themselves can close in to kill. An ironic, pitiful American story of blind—very blind—inexorable retribution, quietly and impressively told, so that the suspense piles up, and the hours fly.