RECENT FICTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22504, 23 February 1935, Page 4

RECENT FICTION

*• Latter Howe.” By Doreen Wallace. Victorian Family Bobinson.” By Beatrice Orimshaw. (Cassell.) ;• s-,' "Knight Reluctant.” By Cuthbert Headlam. s*' 5 *' ÜBlgy U Blg y Business Murder." By G. D. H. and M. Cole. (Crime Club.)' . „ n "The Trial of Linda Stuart' By Mary D. Blckel. (Hamilton.) " Crime Cargo." By _ Maxwell Knight. Mr Dell." By David Hume. <C "Th”e S : Yellow By Colin Eobert««n. (Ward, Lock.) . ' ... _ “ The Paper Chase." By A. Fielding. (Crime "The Bed Token.” By Ottwell Blnns. ’v " west' of Apache Pass." By Charles Alden SelUer., (Hodder and Stoughton.) ’ '■ : (Each Ts.j , ; ' i*’ Latter Howe ’* , . i Doreea Wallace’s novels, so unpretentious and direct, with -» strength that 1 comes from sincerity of motive and .'simplicity of'style, are obtaining for.her a -grading.high among chroniclers of the contemporary English scene. The latest of : them, Howe,” is » moving and an inspiring book. Its poigciance lies m /the tragedy of an illness that first affects , 'and then destroys a happy marital rela- ’ tionship, its : inspiration may be found iby some , in-the characters of the ; mail arid iWfe who/ with courage and patience, play'their parts'in this everyday house: hold /draina. Latoty Lewthwaite is _ a Cumberland farmer,,, who has a . feeling for the hills of his sinall sheep' holding. Wheri ' he meetsvKathleen Parrett, his senior 1 by some years, and shortly marries her, the disturbance in _hsr family is considerable, and reflects itself at Latter sHowe. Kathleen iS a highly cultured woman, arid her parents consider she is .. '“ throwing herself away." At their insistence Lanty moves, first to a larger house, and then, when illness overtakes hie wife/ to Norfolk, She cannot be cured, .and has ajfew years only of life , ileft to her. - From a helpmeet and companion she has become to the struggling farmer a "dolorous care," but in neither of these people does laffection lessen when ■;!eircumstarices have so rudely altered their way of life. The tragedy of "invalidism is one s fhat-can too easily be made by the novelist harrowing and unpleasant or sickeningly sentimental, and readers will appreciate the rare reserve with which Miss Wallace treats of it-, in this book- Her description# of countryside ere as quiet and effective as is her characterisation. _ : Family The title and'cover design of "Victorian Family; Robinson " sufficiently convey the spirit .of: this book, in which: Miss Grimrihaw lands bri a. South Sea island a pririi party or Victorian castaways.- The dominant members are the Rev. Mr Robinson, who wa ß proceeding with his two lovely and sheltered daughters to take up an Australian bishopric, and .the Lady • Gilliland, wife of a Colonial official;-These two> are determined that there shall beg no departure from the code of the. sixties, even if a tropical island has replaced the familiar scene and the only available wardrobe is that of an actress. But the castaways are not left unmolested to make their bit ofi. England.' A party arrives to visit them, the rude and untutored descendants ot a wreck 80 years before. ;.B*i m in: needvflf wives,, the visitors take ithilßohinson contingent away with them, fand.; with- an 1 appropriately • light touch Miar Griraahaw is able to show a foreign -iyjnsfri hf' eivilisation breaking under the '/primeval>ritriiii». r ‘■ ■ ‘ '' ; " ' . ■ %a fev. . ■ ■ third daugh'tHe lafe-'Nidllblas. Grimshaw, of Cloona, County Antrim, where she was , born. She was edueated at Caen and Victoria College, in Belfast, and Bedford . College. She has travelled much alone off the beaten track in various parts of the world, especially in the South Seas, New 1 Guinea, Borneo, Burma, and the Straits Settlements. She was the first white woman to visit the Sepik and Fly Rivers; She is interested in tropical colonisation. Her books include “From Fiji to the Cannibal Islands," “ Dream Islands,” "Conn of the Coral Seas,” and a dozen other novels and books of travel. Her . address ig Port Moresby, Papua,

** Latter Howe "

Fait:Fiction' v- - Colonel Cuthbert Headlams “ Knight Reluctant ” is something more than a thriller. , It deals with exciting and not always extremely probable happenings, but its background is factual. Ireland r in the Sinn Fein period offers scope for practically any violent and colourful story and, reading this novel, one wonders that so few books make use of the tragi-sensa-tional background. The story deals with the adventures of Dr Seymour, who prevents a kidnapping in Harley street, and thus becomes involved in an American fbliticiah’s attempt to run munitions into reland. A captain who is cbm bating th e plan figures largely in'the ; story, and as the American has a daughter, and actually is acting from mistaken motives in engaging in Sinn, Fein activities it is approporiate that the tale should have a conclusion which embodies an AngloAmerican , romance. , ' Murder in the City. The most recent mystery tale by G. D. H. and Margaret , Cole, “ Big Business Murder,” obtains special interest from the skilful association of finance and crime in its pages. Kingsley Manson, the fanatical. wizard who has built up an empire of interests in the city of. London, is a more ‘ credible figure than most magnates of his ilk, who feature in fiction, and, when the authors have reason to 'mention his financial affairs, their descriptions are interesting and adequate. The murdered man’ is a director of Man--1 son’s companies, who is shot dead a few hours before he intended to expose the crooked dealings he had discovered. The financier’s wife and a noble ear], who makes a living from directorships, are among those who come under the attention of Superintendent Wilson in his investigations. */.

On Trial '* ; In “The .Trial of Linda Stuart” an American author has provided ain interesting and unusual story of mystery. A young and beautiful woman is" on trial for the murder of her wealthy fiance, who vas insured in her, favour, and the reader is given, first, an extract from the court proceedings,.then a retrospective outline of. the events referred to, so that the story unfolds gradually, in the past and present simultaneously. Some careful work has gone to the. planning of the book, and the character of the murdered man make* a clever study in abnormal psychology.

Crime Cargo Modem piracy, with a cargo steamer converted for a .pleasure cruise as the scene, a party of wealthy English and American celebrities as the lure, and an unscrupulous pack of'New York Gangsters a« the pirates, gives the theme of Maxwell Knight’s “ Crime Cargo.” The aim of the gangsters is to kidnap the elderly beauty with, whom the millionaire host on the cruise is infatuated, then hold her for ransom.. Their plans are in part suc- - eessful, arid in unfolding the nature of 1 events without over-deadly seriousness Mr Knight has concocted a thriller of some merit in its refreshing from pattern and its plauaiblg characterisation.

The Cardbys Again That intrepid firm of London investigators, ex-inspector Cardby and his son Mick, undertake another case of considerable scope and inexhaustible potentialities for slaughter in “Dangerous Mr Dell.” Mr Dell hag organised crime in the metropolis on an elaborate scale, and every bad character is as much in fear of him as of the Yard itself He has never been seen, however, until he is at last brought to bay by Mick in a scene with some quick gun-play. But before that satisfactory climax is reached the Cardbys have restored a kidnapped woman to her husband and themselves been kidnapped and escaped; they have faced death in a dozen ways, and in assisting Scotland Yard to dispose of Mr Dell’s gang, again earned the nation’s cratitude._ Mr Hume writes with an air of conviction, and bis thrillers certainly are not skimped as to events.

"The Yellow Strangler." The first of many murders in this book occurs in a London flat during the two or three minutes of darkness made necessary in the presentation of a dramatic sketch. Then the person known as the “yellow strangler” starts to work in true earnest, and murders come thick and fast. The book is a thriller unashamed, with various weird and wonderful contrivances introduced to , assist the criminal, but the author can keep a secret until the end, and the reader must go on until he learns what it is.

“The Paper Chase? ' Hugh Winslow, is on holiday at Vipiteno_ when he comes upon evidences of spurious Barik of England notes, and' returns to England much perturbed ■ in mind. He suspects a certain man named Lightfoot, goes to see him, and then disappears completely. Then Fay Starr is found dead in his apartments, ' shot through the back, and this renders the problem more difficult of solution. Slowly Chief Inspector Pointer gathers up one clue after another, and finally brings the murderer to justice. The story is told in a somewhat dragging fashion, but is quite readable. "The Reel Token" ■

; Terry Domville, having rendered a service to Norma Charlton, finds himself involved in an extraordinary series of adventures. He is quite innocent of knowledge of the nature of the events, but the villains are equally, unaware of this arid of the indomitable spirit of the stalwart young man whom they shanghai. If they had realised Terry’s character sooner.; they would certainly not have tackled him, and might have saved themselves Ja deal of trouble. The setting is the Western Isles.

History in the West In “West of Apache Pass,” Charles Alden Seltzer blends history and romance. The scene is Arizona, and the characters are the pioneers who settled in that turbulent land despite the savage Indians, the outlaws, and the natural barriers which had to be > broken down to make way ’ for civilisation. -The theme is conventional, hut,the story is'well told! and there is a wealth of incident. V. V. L.