Of last month's 20, four stood out as best bets. In order of merit:
THE SOUND OF ROWLOCKSWilbur Daniel SteeleHarper ($2.50). First detective novel of prolific Author Steele, best known for his short stories. The Sound of Rowlocks achieves a happy balance between a novel and the conventional detective story. Faced with the problem of presenting flesh-&-blood characters as pawns in a chess puzzle, most writers satisfy neither the novel reader nor the mystery addict. But Wilbur Daniel Steele does well by both. Background and atmosphere are authentic; the characters are clear...