AT LAST, MR. TOLLIVER

Mr. Tolliver, who dreams of practicing medicine again -- in South America -- has an obstacle race over some dead bodies, police supervision, his old, unsavory record of the gangster era, before he can escape a killer and be free to keep his date with his dream. The death of one of his fellow roomers, the near-death of the landlord's daughter, and Tolliver tracks down link after link until capture is inevitable -- but he is saved. A capable record of guilt and gore, this has won the Mary Roberts Rinehart award for the year.