It's a crime
MAURICE PRIOR
I was rather taken with Madame Aubry Dines with Death by Hugh Travers (Elek 21s). Beautiful French female sleuth embarrassed at having to prove her lover innocent of killing his rich American stepmother, does it, so does Hugh Travers with very expansive, smooth and polished writing. A little protracted but well contrived and executed. There are literary leanings in The James Joyce Murder by Amanda Cross (Gollancz 18s), although the police inspector is most unliterary when solving the murder of a neighbour whilst some academic friends are working on the Joyce papers. Intellectual with attendant wit and polish, an engaging velvety yarn by an ac- complished writer.
The Fifth Cord by D. M. Devine (Collins 16s). An ingenious twist highlights this some- what macabre, slightly sour tale of sadistic throttlings in a Scottish town investigated by a near-alcoholic crime reporter who is also one of the suspects. Fast-moving with very good characterisation and adequate suspense. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin (Michael Joseph 25s) is a terrifying, wholly devilish book. Gripping, starkly spine-chilling, it con- cerns an American couple who plan a baby which in due course arrives but only after Rose- mary has had a nightmare during which her husband made passionate love to her. Sequences good, a Satanic, diabolic and enthralling story. Hush, it's a Game by Patricia Carlon (Hod- der and Stoughton 16s). Tension and more tension is the essence of this neat work. A little girl in an Australian city is incarcerated in a flat adjacent to a murdered woman, and her efforts to attract sufficient attention to her plight are ignored and misunderstood. An original idea cleverly builds up into a very suspenseful and effective climax.
Ellery Queen's Crime Carousel (Gollancz 25s). Here's an anthology by some of the best crime writers, including spy, mystery, whodunit and other crime diversifications. All readable and of very high standard, but I feel much impact is lost by the inclusion of so many short stories. Had there been fewer and longer stories the effect would have been much greater. Macgregor Urquhares detective in The Open Mouth (Boardman 16s) believes in bullying and browbeating his suspects when solving a couple of murders in East Anglia. An unlikeable fellow, but he gets results by his perseverance and bulldozing tactics. Mr Urquhart's indi- vidualistic and expressive style embellishes a very good prosy story. Deadline by Thomas B. Dewey (Boardman 16s). A private investi- gator commissioned to save a poor disordered youth from execution, following the death of a girl, goes to a small American township to find clues. He is unsuccessful until a stray hint enables him to beat the deadline. Fluent, brisk with sensible dialogue and a good sense of timing, and not too much bizarre artificiality.
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