1966 novel, the author avoided technicalities by stating these were already covered in a (fictional) book - Burton's Conquest of the Moon, about the first atomic-powered space-ship (The Endeavour). The book instead concentrates on the relationships of the unlikely crew, the Captain, a politician and his daughter, and two other men. Secret plans to recover a strange new element on the moon's surface located at the Tycho crater. The mysterious deaths of the crew, and a dead cat (and reference to Jules Verne's dead dog floating alongside the spaceship). Fun read, but a little far-fetched. ( )

This is my first book by Temple. He was a British SF author from the "Golden Age" of SF. Like many British authors he had more success getting his works published in the flood of American pulp magazines then the few publications available in England. He had short stories in a dozen of the American SF magazines in the 1940s through the 1950s. Like many authors he moved to novels in the 1960s. There are few indications in his stories that clue the reader to his country of origin.

This story started a little slow but I enjoyed the second half. It is just above the average 3 star SF book of the era. Murder in space makes an interesting story. ( )