24 JULY 1959, Page 30

drawn-out murder story distinguished by its Zanzibar setting, with the

characters popping out on cue to buy cuttle fish or mangoes, and thus allowing the author to get in her descriptive bits. Nice, summery read, with some of the appeal of a good travel brochure. Less picturesque, but equally painstaking in its application of a couple of coats of local colour is Divided We Fall. by Eric Burgess (Collins, 12s. 6d.) in which trade-union boss is bumped off by bolus at a branch meeting. The tale is as brisk as a trade-union delegate's vote of thanks, and about as plausible.