ROBERT L. FISH – Always Kill a Stranger. Captain Jose Da Silva #6. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, hardcover, 1967. Berkley X1511, paperback, February 1968. Foul Play Press, paperback, 1998.

   Captain Jose Da Silva of the Brazilian police and his friend Wilson, US assignee to Interpol in Brazil, combine to thwart the planned assassination of a diplomat attending a conference of the OAS.

   The relationship between the two men, friendly, humorous, and occasionally antagonistic, is the most satisfying part of the book. Most pertinent, perhaps, is their agreement to disagree on the merits of the CIA, and American efforts on foreign policy in general. As a member of the US Embassy in Brazil, however, Wilson has the opportunity of meeting and recognizing various types of ugly American. Indeed, what Brazil needs from the US is more Wilson.

   The surprise ending is dependent on the previously unknown [WARNING; Plot Alert.] of a brother who looks very much like the intended victim. Deducible, I suppose. [End Plot Alert.] The incompetence of several members of the Brazilian police, though probably realistic, on at least two occasions allows the assassination plot to head on to a climax undisturbed.

Rating: ***½

— January 1969.