HIS MASTER'S VOICE. By Ivy Low. (Heinemann. .7s. 6d.)—A detective
story about present-day Russia is something out of the ordinary. Ivy Low, who in her private life is the wife of Litvinoff, the Foreign Secretary of the U.S.S.R., has succeeded not only in providing us with an exciting story, but she has also very deftly drawn some striking and significant sketches of life in Moscow to-day. Her description of the ice floating down the Moscow river after the spring thaw, of the life of the vagabond children with their peculiar loyalties and courage, of the Kremlin like some fairy palace, not intended for the habitation of man . . . regally quiescent," are beautifully and truthfully written. The plot is original and the manner in which it is unravelled is unusual : not one of the detectives on the case is exceptionally brilliant, but each is quite a pleasant human being. Dolidzey, the ballet dancer, around whom the story centres, is a delightful creature, full of joie de vivre and creative energy. We thoroughly recommend His Master's Voice for week-end reading or to take away on a holiday.
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