SOME NOVELS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 57, 4 September 1926, Page 21

SOME NOVELS

A MISSING CHANCELLOR,

"The Stolen Budget." By J. S. Fletcher. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

This interesting story shows how a "peace-loving aspirant to a quiet literary life" was led into exciting activities in connection with the sudden disappearance of the Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, a Mr. Petherwin, who masquerades at times under the name of Peters, and is in the habit of taking quiet intervals in. the country in order to get some uninterrupted time to work, -as well as a mental rest, and who comes to the country inn which he is in the habit of patronising. He settles down as usual, and in the morning goes out with a little geological hammer and a bag—and that is the last seen of him. The writer of the story, "the peace-loving aspirant," Mr. Morrison, is the last person to see him, and is so interested that he enters into the search whole-heartedly and with a great deal of intelligence. So much so, that the Prime Minister, who is an old friend of Mr. Morrison's father, sends for him and gives him confidential information about the affair which points out the urgency of the finding of Mr. Petherwiu. It appears that he had with him the new Budget, which was not quite finished, but which contained matter which was of the greatest importance to financial England to be kept private till the time came for presentation to Parliament. Near the scene of the disappearance of the Chancellor there is found the body of a young fisherman, who had been shot. It is surmised that he was endeavouring to assist Mr. Petherwin, and was murdered in consequence. The course taken by Morrison in the endeavour to find out what had become of the Chancellor leads him into many strange adventures, and the book is thoroughly original in that the finding of the lost man is the dominant interest of the • usual almost inevitable "love" business. It is a fine, wholesome story, with a dramatic conclusion, which is well-conceived and satisfactory. A companionable book with good descriptive work and "live" characters throughout. "The Lord of Terror." By Marcel Allain. London: Messrs.. Stanley Paul. The Fantomas novels, of -which "The Lord of Terror" is the latest, have won wide popularity with the readers of detective fiction. The breathless -rush of events and the ingenious ruses employed by the master-criminal make a thrilling story. In this book Tantomas comes to life again after a long disappearance, and resumes his old battle of wits with Juve and Fandor, the detective and journalist.. June and I Tandor have difficulty at first in proving their identity, but when they have re-established themselves they come to grips with their arch-enemy^ The fight, is continued in and out of Paris, and in many desperate situations. Readers who like rapid action and thrilling details will find this book exactly to their fancy. "The Beckoning Finger." By Harry Harding. London: Methuen and Co. With a little judicious handling to make it fit the stage, this novel would make quite a nice melodrama of the good old type. There is a heroine; the hero (an Australian of considerable wealth) is one of those magnificent fellows who can wipe the floor with any ordinary man, and does it several times and very severely with the villain; the villain is an absolutely nasty man who lets his spite go so far that.a plain murder is too simple for him to trouble with. Plots thicken, the heroine is caught in a web of physical and psychological toils, and the story works up to a terrific climax which is capped by the providential slaying of the villain by a bullet aimed at the hero. One cannot help regarding this as a very lucky shot, for it was absolutely imperative to Bolve the tangle somehow, and it started the rot. This is what followed: "The man who had fired that fatal shot gaped for a moment at the dire result of his handiwork, and then with a loud curse fumbled with the rifle to throw out the spent shell. The few seconds respite were all that David needed. Like a runner leaping from the mark he launched himself at the man and landed on him in mid-air, bearing him headlong backwards to the deck. With quick, ruthless hands he wrenched the rifle from him and clubbed him where he lay. Then, with never a pause in his volcanic series of movements, he leaped up, jumped for the bridge, and clouted the steersman, who, with knee still braced against the wheel and half-leaning over it, was holding his wounded shoulder with both hands. The man collapsed and slid away." After a little more of this sort of thing, to clean up the rest of the crew, the heroine kissed her "terrible, glorious man," and they went home and got married.