This book just misses being a first-class mystery story by the weakness of its ending in which, quite unaccountably, the author supplies unsatisfactory solutions 10 some of the problems he has himself set, This is probably the fault lack of practice, and one looks forward with considerable enjoyment to further tale from the pen of 2 man who not only knows how 10 sustain interest from chapter to never set foot in Jamaica, where the scene is Inid. Here is definitely a writer with the gift for dramatic story-telling, who should go far. But must exercise more care in ga~ thering together his threads at the fend and in satisfying his reader with logical explanations.
The plot deals with the adventures of Mildmarch and Hazard in Jamaica where they get on the track of some subterranean sinister cult among the heroes. Two unknown figures) are pitted against one another in the Hrife; the Cypher, in league with gunrunners and stirring up trouble among the blacks, and X, who checkmates his every move In quite the approved Edgar Wallace style Fight up to the end.
The secret of both these identities fs well guarded, almost too well. the author should Probably will Team BY to let stib just enough information in the future to keep his readers on the vive, attempting to piece together what they have found out ina coherent whole. Whereas in the book under review he makes it clear that the Cypher is one of four men, none of whom particularly capture one's Interest; the ultimate elution in these circumstances loses its zest As to the conversation overheard by the hero in the underground passages of the old secret fortress between Namara and the invisible and still unidentified Cypher, the sudden surprising twist given to events by the announcement that the overheard conversationalist was not really the Cypher but his deadly enemy X, using a "radio loudspeaker of his enemy's wolfe" is quite neutralized by Immediate suspicion on the part of the reader that our author does not even Know what a loud speaker is! Where, when, and under what cir cumstances is the Cypher (still un-Identified, remember) supposed 19 have made the record or whatever it was which enabled X to carry on perfectly intelligible conversation with Namara, impersonating the latter's Number' One? And what con ceivable reason could X have had, the very end, for imm: impel by following his two enemies down the underground passage, just as he had fesued orders to-have the pas age flooded? We suspect that the author allowed himself to be a little muddled by his own plot towards the end, which is disappointing in story which promises so well.
London, comes fo the sticky end de- recommended to lovers of the Wild Really, Mr. Ames, you must do bet-signed for herr. er than this next time—asecae,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.