NEW BOOKS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 48, Issue 76, 10 January 1928, Page 2

NEW BOOKS

° “A PURPLE PATCH.” Those who have enjoyed Isobel Cameron’s “The Doctor,” and “More about the Doctor,” will not require to be recommended to read her latest booklet, “Gorry,” published by the Cornstalks Publishing Company. This is a collection of eight charming stories with Celtic glamour and tenderness, written in the same fascinating and interesting stylo and with the same insight into human nature as the doctor. It id no exaggeration to say that Barrie at his best or lan Maclaren in his most pathetic and humorous mood is a fair verdict upon this booklet. It is a real purple patch.

“LEAGUE QF MISSING MEN.”

' J. M. Walsh lias been described as the Australian Edgar Wallace, and certainly “The League of Missing Men” lends weight to the claim. The story begins with a complaint by a company promoter that ho has received an anonymous communication warning li’m that he has only 24 hours to live. Then the police telephone rings, and when the threatened man is speaking there conies the sound of a blow, a choking cry, a thud of a falling body and sinister silence.. On arrival at the man’s office, the weapon with which the deed was done is found, but there is no body. From then on the mystery deepens, ijut...the atmosphere is not all tragic, for the . detective entrusted with the case falls in love with one of the suspects'. How he unravels the mystery, and wliat is finally the fate of the criminal is told in~~a manner that engrosses the attention throughout; The Cornstalk Company (Messrs Angus and Robertson) are the publishers.

FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE.

Mary Grant Bruce has written several stories that have made her popular with young readers, and her latest, “Andersoivs Jo,” will add to her reputation. John Anderson, a lonely mid-dle-aged widower, finds himself entrusted with the care and . control of a six-year-old orphan, Jo. His task is shared by his housekeeper, and the two find that “Jo” is rather “a handful” though a delightful personality. She has a will of her own and impresses it on all with - whom she comes in eontac.t but nevertheless she twines herself round the hearts of her two guardians. Anderson’s fear of a father turning up to claim Jo leads, them into many adventures of a highly entertaining kind. There are vivid word pictures of Gippsland and Tasmania, and the story is told with that skill and sympathy which Miss Grant can impart so charmingly. The Cornstalk, Publishing Company (Messrs Angus and Robertson) are the publishers.

“BUSH BOY’S BOOK.” The “Bush Boys’ Book,” though written primarily for Australians, is equally interesting to New r Zealanders who loye the outdoor life. Into its 330 pages is packed a wealth of interesting information, hints and advice, invaluable for camping in bush or on seashore. If a boy wants to know how to camp, how to make a bnsli bed, how to cook in the bush; if he desires useful hints on swimming and bathing, on handling a rifle, on codes, ciphers, and signals, and especially how to find the way when one has lost it, it is all set down plainly and clearly in tin's little volume. Every camper should, put a copy of this book into his knapsack. The publishers are the Cornstalk Publishing Company (Messrs Angus and Robertson), Sydney. s

STORY ABOUT BUSHRANGERS. “Red Mask,” by E. V. Timms, author of “The Valley of Adventure,” is a book that every boy will enjoy from start to finish. It is a tale of the Victorian diggings of 1854, and relates the sequence of events that led to the famous Eureka Stockade fight, It tells of a mysterious man, Red Mask, who successfully wages war against the bushrangers who terrorised the country. There is no dragging of action, episode follows episode in that rapid manner so dear to the boy reader. Just who the Red Mask was, or who. the ■arch-bushranger was, cannot be divulged here, in fairness to the reader, but it may be .said that the hero finds that his fear that the heroine would marry some city man is not justified. No boy will regret having started to read the story, but may regret that the narrative is not twice the length. “Red Mask” is published by Messrs Angus and Robertson.