The Eight Guests. By Percy White. (A. Constable and Co.
6a.)—The first half of this book, the scene of which passes in London, is in theme so like others of Mr. Percy White's works that the reader, but for the change of names, would hardly know that a new book was occupying his attention. When, however, the millionaire, Marcus Hart, tries to maroon eight members of smart society on a desert island, things become far more lively. The second half of the novel is quite incredible and unconvincing, but very entertaining reading all the same. The account of the smart ladies on the yacht ' The Dawn,' and of the extreme virtue they display under the sense of approaching death, is well given. Even better, perhaps, is the end of the book, which reminds us of the second line of the old rhyme:-
" The Devil got well, the devil a monk was he." •;'
It is a pity that in Mr. White's more recent novels there is never a single character with whom it is possible to sympathise. A good understanding between the reader and one at least of the persons of the drama is a great help to the enjoyment of fiction.
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