Greenland Treasure

Southland Times, Issue 23047, 14 November 1936, Page 13

Greenland Treasure

Snowstone. By J. M. Scott. Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd. English price 7/6. J. M. Scott, biographer of Gino Watkins and himself a prominent figure in the recent exploration of Greenland, has made this icy land the scene of his first novel; indeed, he has made it his principle character. He knows Greenland intimately and his descriptions are true and convincing. It is extraordinary that no other recent novelist has thought of Greenland as an appropriate scene for a mystery-adventure story. It has the merit of being well off the beaten track; it is, therefore, a place where almost anything can happen free from the reach of the law. Snowstone is a new mineral situated in a lonely fiord of East, Greenland of which the secret has been given to Geoffrey Troy, an explorer, by an old Eskimo at the point of death. Unfortunately, the secret gets into other hands as well as Troy’s; and two parties, one led by Troy, the other by a villainous rascal named Ivan Sound, both start on the search for treasure. They ultimately come to grips, but not until Mr Scott has told an exciting and unusual story of adventure. His descriptions of Greenland and the life of its people are memorable. Two New Thrillers The Dark Waters. By William Corcoran. Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd. English price 7/6. McLean Remembers. By George Goodchild. Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd. English price 3/6.

William Corcoran’s first book was a “western.” This, his second, is a story of the New York underworld; but it has many of the marks of the “western.” There is an inordinate amount of gunfire and killing, some torture, luxurious apartments hidden under wharves; and the chief villain is called the Eel. It is hard to recall a book with more action to the page than this. The plot deals with the secret purchase and shipment of arms for a Balkan state and the gangster warfare which this involves. George Goodchild’s McLean has many followers. This book—new at the English published price of 3/6—is the latest record of his adventures in crime and among criminals. It is excellent value.