11 OCTOBER 1930, Page 28

THE DOOMED FIVE. By Carolyn Wells. (Lippincott 7s. 6d.)—Our old

friend, Fleming Stone, solves the mystery of the deaths of a millionaire and three out of four of the lega- tees under his eccentric will. These legatees stand between the family and what they regard as their rights, and the sinister behaviour of Guy and his sister and aunt make us suspect each of them to some extent, as also the partner and the old family lawyer, who persecutes the daughter with his attentions. It seems a pity that all the nicer people in the book should die and all the unpleasant ones live, but no doubt that is what is known as the survival of the fittest." The fashion in detective stories now seems to lie in the invention of new weapons, and the one used in this story is satisfyingly simple and mysterious. •