OTHER NOVEIS.—The Yellow Streak. By Valentine Williams. (Herbert Jenkins. 7s.
6d. net.)—When a critic confesses to having neglected many other pressing duties in order to unravel the mystery of a detective story a considerable efficiency in its construction may be argued. The supposed suicide of a millionaire, Hartley Parrish, occurs in the very first pages of the book, and the reader will hurry breathlessly through the twenty-six chapters which lie between him and the unravelling of the mystery. Self. By Beverley Nichols. (Chatto and Windus. 7s. 6d. net.)—Had it been better done, Mr. Nichols's reproduction in modem dress of the opening chapters of Vanity Fair might have been amusing. Unfortunately, Nancy, the adventuress heroine, has little in common with Becky Sharp
except her green eyes and red hair. Her exposure by her husband, though it recalls can hardly be said to remind us of tho terrible scene in which Rawdon Crawley finds Becky and Lord Steyne together. The moral of the story is the same in both instances.—,Spinster of This Pariah. By W. E. Maxwell. (Thornton Butterworth. 7s. 6d. net.)—A long and rather elaborate novel in which Mr. Maxwell exploits an unconven- tional situation dominated by a conventional heroine. The chapters which describe the journey of the hero and the heroine in the Andes are extremely exciting, and the whole book will be found excellent reading by those who like a story with a real plot.—Harbour Lights. By Lady Poore. (Hutchinson. 75. 6d. net.)—In spite of the uncomfortable feeling which this novel gives to readers that each chapter had to be constructed to be more or less " complete in itself " for publication else- where, the book contains interesting sidelights into that very close corporation, the families of naval officers. Many of us have looked with envy on the delightful terms of comradeship and companionship which seem to bring all sailor families together into one large family. Lady Poore's book illustrates this thesis, though the chapters concerning the doings of Lady Louisa Trevose prove that there is another side to the picture.
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