TEBOGO AND THE HAKA. By O Bolaji

As the South African national side (Rugby) - the Springboks - slumped to a terrible defeat against the All Blacks of New Zealand at the weekend, my mind went back to this exciting work of fiction which came out almost a decade ago. The Haka, which is globally associated with the All Blacks!

It is worthwhile reading this story again - the fifth adventure of Tebogo, I think. The action such as it is takes place in the South African town of Ladybrand. Here we get to meet one or two intriguing ladies, mainly Charlotte - but of course this story is about murder, terrible murders. The way the author weaves the fabric of the Haka performance into the narrative illustrates once again what a fine creative writer Chief Bolaji has been whilst at his peak.

MORE DEADLY THAN THE MALE. By James Hadley Chase

George, painfully shy, harmless by nature lives in a world of dreams and imagination. Alas his fate is sealed the moment he meets Cora, hard, cold, worldly wise and ruthless. She leads him on, manipulates the hulking idiot (yes, George!) till his whole world falls apart, and he is destroyed. He is ready to do anything to please and have her, but he fails dismally as the reality is that Cora can not even stand him in any way. George even goes so far as to attempt to rob a woman to divest her of her finery just to please Cora but - typical of him - this ends in farcical fashion. The truth is that George is a "prize imbecile", a loser, a sucker to the very end. It is a pathetic, moving, powerful story. At least there are some prose-nuggets in this work, eg " the children spotted them heads turning in their direction with the precision of a field of corn moving in a wind”; “the prostitutes, thieves, pimps, the touts…all moving in a steady stream, like a river of rottenness”; “he wavered before George like weeds in a fast moving river”; “the hush of the room, above the drone of the bees, and the rustle of the hollyhocks against the window..” Who says Chase was not a fine writer?