NEW BOOKS

Southland Times, Issue 24593, 15 November 1941, Page 9

NEW BOOKS

NOVELS ■ Naval Adventures THE CAPTAIN FROM CONNECTICUT. By C. S. Forester. Michael Joseph, London, through Whitcombe and Tombs. Price 9/-.' C. S. Forester occupies a unique position as a novelist. His stories are of ships and the sea; but almost invariably he writes them against a historical background. They combine a technical accuracy with a rare vitality of imagination. His ships are not merely floating stages suitably prepared for colourful events. The frigate Delaware, in which Captain Josiah Peabody steals through the British blockade and goes hunting among the convoys during the last months of the Napoleonic wars, is presented with an exactness of detail that creates a remarkable

illusion of reality. When the proud ship swings into action the battle is described vividly; but even the long days and nights at sea, the shipboard routine and the changes of weather, are made interesting to the point of excitement. There is a love story and a growing suspense while the Delaware and a British frigate play a cat-and-mouse game in neutral waters. Captain Peabody is a younger, taller and more dashing Captain Hornblower. But the story ends too definitely to leave much hope for a second trilogy. Suicide —or Murder? THE CASE OF THE CONSTANT SUICIDES. By John Dickson Carr. Hamish Hamilton, London, through Whitcombe and Tombs. Price 8/-. A new detective story by John Dickson Carr needs no recommendation. “The Case of the Constant Suicides” is lighter in tone than some of its predecessors —it begins with a chapter of first-rate comedy—but as a problem in detection it is no less satisfying. A young professor of history is summoned to the home of his ancestors, the Castle of Shira, in the Scottish highlands. There he is confronted with some extremely odd relations, with a whisky of great potency, and with the suicide of his uncle. Or was it murder? No one could tell whether the elder Campbell had fallen, or had been pushed, from his room at the top of the castle tower. And it mattered a great deal, for practically his whole estate was in life insurance and could not be realized if he had committed suicide. Here Mr Carr and the voluminous Dr Fell have their favourite “closed room” problem. If it was murder, and the victim was pushed, how did the murderer get in and out of a room that was heavily locked on the inside and was inaccessible from the window? Before they have answered this question another'Campbell has dropped out of the tower room and their chief suspect has hanged himself in a cottage several miles away. Three suicides—or three murders? It’s an ingenious story, well worked out and brightly told. And in the background is a very agreeable romance. Stories of Detection INSPECTOR TREADGOLD INVESTIGATES. By Anthony Weymouth. Rich & Cowan, London, ' through Whitcombe & Tombs. Price 8/-. Inspector Treadgold is by now quite a familiar figure, but this is the first time he has appeared in a volume of short stories. The 14 cases which make up the book are ingeniously devised and neatly worked out. Treadgold himself is slight and self-effacing, but he enjoys taking a rise out of his superiors—and almost invariably does. Anthony Weymouth has a pleasant, easy style, and he makes good use of his expert knowledge of medicine and physiology. A Good Western GUARDIANS OF THE TRAIL. By Jackson Gregory. Hodder and Stoughton, London, through W. S. Smart, Sydney. Price 8/3 net. Jefferson Morgan follows a dangerous trail to hunt down the man who murdered his best friend. But when he falls in love with the killer’s sister he finds himself postponing the showdown, and there are unexpected twists to the story before guns roar in the fast-moving climax. Jackson Gregory is one of the best writers of westerns. His heroes are credible young men, and he etches the stark backgrounds with an eye for picturesque detail. “Guardians of the Trail” is a skilful blend of drama and romance which should chain most readers to a single sitting.