The Jackal. By Coulson Kernahn.n. (Ward, Lock, and Co. 68.)—The
beginnirik of the book promises well, and is really rather good in its own sensational way ; but unfortunately the unravelling of the author's mystery is a tedious process for the reader, nor is the mystery in the least credible when unravelled. A story of this kind should, to be successful, go with a rush from beginning to end ; but The Jackal is not guiltless of padding, and of long pauses during which even the pretext for action disappears. The only original thing in the novel is the utter stupidity of the "amateur detective,"—a gentleman who is usually endowed in fiction with entirely abnormal percep- tions and resource. The central idea of the book, the abduction for no perceptible reason of a number of well-known ladies, is rather ingenious, and it is therefore a pity that the story should be so poorly worked out.
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