Published in 1957 this first UK edition is in good condition for its age: there is some staining and discoloration to the pages however the pages and hardcover are intact. There is no dust jacket. It is ex library stock and there is evidence of this in the book. About the novel: It was a hot day - too hot for April. The sun beat relentlessly on the sidewalks and the people stayed indoors. Most of the tourists had gone back north, and the residents of Flamingo had the town pretty much to themselves. They could play golf, swim at uncrowded beaches. Kids could play hide and seek in the tall grass round the vacant winter houses. The real estate men, the car salesmen and the police could all relax-spring had come to Florida and the season was over. But at 11.30 that morning, a man and a woman in a dusty grey Buick with Illinois number plates drove into town. And the evil days began.