Rosel George Brown (1926–1967)

Typical fast Laumer romp, a little darker than usual, but somehow this time it comes across thin and flat. Not his best work by a wide margin.

Another entertaining outing for the effervescent police sergeant Sibyl Sue Blue, this time involving attempts by a charismatic villain to drown a world to drive off Terrans. It's a bit more confused and uneven than her previous book, but still fun.

I bought this hoping for more of Rosel George Brown's sparky "Sibyl Sue Blue" style, but it turned out to be just another dull hero's journey, with a dim male protagonist who has an undeserved sense of racial superiority and a propensity for violence when he doesn't get his way. There are lots of weird aliens, but no world-building to give them context. DNF about half-way through.

A highly entertaining mix of hardboiled detective, interplanetary drug crimes, alien plantlife, and nice frocks! Great to see a female protagonist living life to the full, instead of being the insipid girly love-interest for the he-man hero so often seen in SF from this era. Very enjoyable.