Mr. E. Charles Vivian has scored again with his atest novel "38 Automatio" (Ward Lock, London 3/6), which is the story of a man shot dead Ina taxi during the height of @ roar-Ing gale; yet the driver of the vehicle states "he heard no shot fired, The detective assigned the task of bring-ting the murderer to justice is our fold friend Inspector Head, and in his own. painstaking and imperturbable manner this officer, by a series of Drilllant deductions based on facts coupled with hours and hours of hard "work, eventually succeeds in tracking down the criminal. This is Jo thriller that will appeal to all dis-Jcriminating readers, not only because Jot {ts undoubted semblance to reality, but Because each and every. step taken by Head in his investigation is clearly and concisely explained that the reader has every clue in his hands, but unless "reasoning powers: far above the average are brought into play, the denouement will be as far off as ever. Excellent descriptive powers and fine charac {terization make "38 Automatlo" a tale {that lovers of detective fiction should
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