6 OCTOBER 1961, Page 29

The Ferguson Affair. By Ross Macdonald. (Collins, 12s. 6d.) A

great deal of the flavour and character of Raymond Chandler's wry, sar- donic stories of Californian crime lay in the crisp dialogue of characters no better (and, for that matter, no worse) than they should have been, and in his direct disillusioned gaze at the slums that lie behind the country clubs. Without being more than acceptably derivative, Ross Macdonald has much the same quality, and this tale of a series of multiple burglaries, with mur- der at every turning point of the plot, not only moves fast enough to take you briskly over the implausibilities, but provides a lively look at a likely world.