It's a Crime
Doll, by Ed McBain (Hamish Hamilton, 16s.). If a new Ed McBain doesn't come your way, you ask for it, because otherwise you know you will be missing a thriller with a special flavour. When Evan Hunter, alias Ed McBain, brings his skill as a novelist to bear on a crime story, the result is worth waiting for. This one plunges your heart into your boots when a charred body is found in a burnt car, with an accompanying shield belonging to Detective Steve Carella, for you know him well. Read it with anxiety for your favourite cop. Testament of Evil, by Bradshaw Jones (John Long, 15s.). Satisfying, exciting and doesn't stretch one's imagination beyond the limits. Everything here could happen, provided one accepts the world of the agent prepared to carry his incredibly tough training into effect, on the principle that nothing is too ruthless when you're up against dope-smuggling on an international scale, and the evil dispensers of it. Feramontov, by Des- mond Cory (Muller, 18s.). There's a long-sought Russian agent on the prowl, and Johnny Fedora —likeable, disillusioned, very experienced in the hunting of Man—is on his trail. A book full of Bondish ingredients—sex, sudden death, ex-
pertise—which 'had me glued to the last half till the small hours. '
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