14 FEBRUARY 1958, Page 22

Daughter Fair. By Peter Graaf. (Michael Joseph, 13s. 6d.) Strong

Chandlerian overtones— plot reminiscent both of The Big Sleep and The Little Sister, and the Marlowesque private eye is tough, rude and a tiger with the ladies. But setting is Kentish country house; American shamus and English nobs ring equally true, and pace is too fast for the plot's implausibilities to matter much.