4 JANUARY 1919, Page 16

READABLE NOVELS.—Caplain Morraday's Marriage. By Thomas Cobb. (John Lane. Os.

net.)—A war story in which a somewhat commonplace theme is set out with Mr. Cobb's usual accomplishment.—The Secret Hand. By Douglas Valentine. (Herbert Jenkins. Os. net.)—There is no need to describe the theme of this book, which is announced in the title. The adventures are well devised and the mysteries ingeniously dovetailed one into the other. —The Pawns Coast. By E. Phillips Oppen. heim. (Hodder and Stoughton. M. net.)—The war has given

Oppenheim an excellent opportunity of .describing really exciting adventures. His new story is most successful in holding the reader's breathless attention, and though the scenes at Washington may not be historically accurate, they are at any rate exceedingly well devised.