Some Reviews in Brief

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 24009, 5 July 1941, Page 16

Some Reviews in Brief

Murder of Gossip Writer "The Ink Street Murder," by Francis D. Grierson (Eyre and Spottiswood), is a soun.l Wallacian crime thriller centring round the killing of a gossip writer and leading up to gangwork with a concealed master f.end. Those who like reading about violent action should find the book very satisfying. Picturesque Romance "The Magic Bow," by Manuel Komroff (Heinemann). takes us fatther back in time than yesterday—as far as Paganini and the Italy of Napoleon's day. It is staccato, rather absurd, but endearing; and makes picturesque romance out of Paganini's unmended shoes, his extraordinary gift of sightreading, the Stradivarius and the Guarnerius violins he acquired, and the lovely young lady of title who was not allowed by her mother to marry him.

Unusual Setting "The Rescue Party," by Nora Lloyd (Dent), is a thrilling tale with an unusual setting. We arc i.Produced to th« attractive Steadford family and follow their adventures on an island in the West Indies. The children arc trying to save their father, an influential English sugar-planter, who is threatened by scheming nati.es. Action is the keynote, but at the same time life on the island, with its own particular style of "fishing, hunting and shooting," its American tourists and the strange native superstitions, are cleverly woven into the background. Though the book is written for young people, it will be equally enjoyed by adults. Entertaining Novel "Farming in the Cotswolds, life in a London advertising agencv and espionage nre among thq ingredients of "At Dusk All Cats are Grey," by .Jerrard Tickell (Chapman and Hall). It is a very readable story. The heroine, daughter of an impoverished baronet, is vividly drawn, and so are some of the curiously assorted people she meets. Not All Guilty "We Were Not All Wrong," by Geoffrey Marnier, M.P. (Gollancz), is No. 12 of Mr. Gollancz's lively "Victory" books, adding spice to them by a spirited rejoinder to the Guilty .Men's plea that "everyone was wrong." Mr. Marnier, of course, has a precise modification to offer to that sweeping plea; but lie is interesting in what lie incidentally writes about the newly enforced necessity for a modification of national sovereignty. His instance of the pooling of Anglo-American territorial and strategic resources deserves all the importance he attaches to it in that sense. Mysterious Lady In her latest novel. "Lady MakeBelieve," (Herbert Jenkins), Miss Kathleen Lindsay transports her readers to the lovely mountains of Liechtenstein. Here Francis Dereham goes to seek the young, beautiful and penniless Fav Klton, whom he befriended at a hotel on the Riviera. He finds her at last, but she has now mysteriously become the wealthy Cralin and owner of a large Alpine sell loss, with a villainous character, Guv Devcreux, closely guarding her interests. How Devcreux is brought to justice and Dereham wins Fay makes entertaining reading. Modern Cinderella "Ann's a Child." the latest novel by Maysie Greig, tells of Ann, an orphanage girl who was taken from the home by the lady president of the institution, with a view to adoption. The lady died, however, before taking the essential legal action, and although steps are taken to put this right, Maysie Greig is chiefly concerned with Ann's romance with the son of the house. It is a modern Cinderella storv presented with the skill associated with this writer of romance. (Hodder and S to ugliton.) Two Westerns Slim Stevens returns to his ranch after a brief absence to find other men in possession and as an added injury he is made a prisoner. How he contrives to escape and circumvent his ruthless enemies is the theme of "The Heart E Horsemen," by Archie Joscelyn. That well-known writer of Western stories, Gladwell Richardson, in ' his latest yarn, "Riders l*p," starts, otf with his hero, Dan Call, delivering a message to Boulder Creek, but the ranchers resent the message ami the messenger. The plot is too exciting to give away. Both are published by Ward, Lock