Gold Scoop First edition, signed. by Gall, Sandy - 1977

London: William Collins Sons and Co Ltd, 1977. First edition, signed " Best Wishes, Sandy Gall, Leicester, '79" to the ffep. Hardback. Light brown boards with gilt to spine. Dust jacket in protective sleeve. Debut novel from Sandy Gall who was probably best known at the time as ITN's newsreader. Alastair Playfair arrives in Africa to cover a coup d'etat, his task made easier and more attractive by the presence in the British High Commission of Arabella. It is clear that the usurping general will get the better of the royal family, but both try to lay hands on a hoard of gold brought into the country at the time of the Congo troubles. A third party emerges that is also interested in the gold. A tense novel and one vivid with atmosphere - sandy Gall had been a prisoner in one of Amin's jails. A magnificent climax in which all the threads of this colourful story are knotted ingeniously together. Book in near fine condition. Very slight lean to the spine and some very slight bruising to tail of spine. Dust jacket near fine. Unclipped. Minor edge wear and a little colour fade to the spine.