Scot-Free. By C. G. Compton. (Kogan Paul and Co.)—The crime
that Cartwright, the hero in Scot-Free, is made to commit, is certainly surprising and unexpected, and, we cannot help thinking, absurd ; men of his typo, however unscrupulous, do not murder. That he should have been detected in the manner represented, is equally improbable. As for the characters, Mr. Compton knows how to draw the more mediocre characters of life with some liveliness and plenty of definition, and the etory itself travels briskly enough. The obvious straining after a mingled psychological and cynical analysis, and a would-be worldly wisdom in the dialogue, does much to mar an otherwise well-told story. But, indeed, there is too much of the subjective analysis which should only be found in essays, and can only be rarely interpolated in love-stories by masters. The real drift of Scot-Free becomes so uncertain, and the climax is so preposterous, that the last half of the book, at least, must be called a failure.
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