20 DECEMBER 1890, Page 25

The Winding Way. By J. S. Fletcher. (Kogan Paul and

Co.) —This is a strong and ingenious story, which is saying a great deal for a variation on the often-used theme of the personation of a dead man by a temporary comrade who has got hold of his papers and takes unlawful possession of his inheritance. The literary merit of the work is not great ; but for what the story is, a brisk succession of incidents of the sensational kind, with plenty of crime, a fair sprinkling of love, some cleverly managed coincidences, one really amusing villain, and an innocent victim, the writer deserves commendation. He does not trycj.3e please the higher, but he appeals successfully to the more A taste in fiction ; and he brings his criminals to exemp'.;.47,erief by a clever and reasonable process.