11 APRIL 1958, Page 23

The Long Farewell. By Michael limes. (Gol- , t lez, 12s. 6d.)

The plot is as donnish as ever—a ,,Rakespeare discovery leads to death in the tihrarY—but not the style: indeed, Mr. Innes per- °Ins himself 'contact' as a transitive verb, and eschews his usual crossword-puzzle quips and cluiddities. Quite a brisk detective story, and nearer .redibility than some of the more fantasticated