12 JULY 1957, Page 32

It's a Crime

The Big Bite. By Charles Williams. (Cassell, 12s. 6d.) One of the toughest and tensest American thrillers since the film of Double Indemnity. Relentless blackmailer matches wits with those of equally relentless couple of killers : brilliantly composed plot; vivid phrase-making; pace; action and surprise—the last half-dozen pages as effec- tive as any in the book.