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A TIGER WALKS by Ian Niall

A TIGER WALKS

By

Pub Date: Jan. 4th, 1961
Publisher: Morrow

A Polish tiger trainer, under the influence of a few drinks, opens the door of a circus trailer, and along with his fellow keeper is mangled and killed by the escaping tiger. This is only the beginning of the bloodstained trail the big cat leaves in the small Welsh village of Pentre Ddu and the outlying mist-covered hills. This is a straight-forward but strong situation and it is handled with both excitement and interest; excitement as the tiger prowls in the environs and attacks here and there; interest as a variety of characters are introduced and individuated; the moderate, reflective Inspector Williams; a blowsy barmaid who is an easy target for local malice; a stalwart shepherd; a pith-helmeted, tiger-hunting Major who turns out to be only a crank and a coward; as well as the Army and the Press. The presence of fear often extending to panic, the use of ordinary people in an extraordinary circumstance, and the continuing tension of the situation all provide a story which is handled with appreciable skill and minimal sensationalism.