Recalled to Lice. By Grant Allen. (Arrowsmith.)—The work- manship in
Mr. Grant Allen's three-volume novels has of late become somewhat hasty and careless, but there is not in this story a single page to which either of these epithets could possibly be applied. The plot is in itself remarkably ingenious ; the various stages of the narrative are dovetailed with a fine perfection of precision ; and while the denouement, when reached, is found to be in harmony with everything that has led up to it, its nature is such as to baffle the guesses of the shrewdest reader. Here, as in most of Mr. Grant Allen's recent stories, the author's scientific knowledge is largely and effectively utilised. Mr. Callingham, an enthusiastic amateur photographer, has invented a camera by the automatic working of which six pictures can be taken in rapid succession by the aid of six flashes of the electric light, which are also automatically provided for. He is found murdered in his studio, and it is clear that at the time of the murder the camera has been at work, but of the six plates which must have been prc- duced, only one can be found, and this one represents Mr. Calling- ham lying dead upon the floor, and the back and hand of a man who is escaping through the open window. It is also clear that the murder must have been witnessed by Mr. Callingham's daughter, who is discovered in the room in a state of unconscious- ness ; but when she comes to herself, her memory is entirely gone. As she regains strength, she determines to track down the unknown murderer ; and the story, which is devoted to the progress and result of the quest, could not well be more ingenious or more exciting than it is.
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