25 AUGUST 1984, page 22

Lead Balloons

Patrick Skene Catling The Best of Modern Humour Edited by Mordecai Richler (Allen Lane £10.95) T here are two seasons of the year when publishers offer books which are sup-......

Conjuring Tricks

Mary Hope Voices in an Empty Room Francis King (Hutchinson £8.95) F rincis King's craft is now such, that embarking on his latest novels is like getting into a superbly......

Books Wanted

ONE PAIR OF HANDS by Monica Dickens and 'Young Men in Spats' by P. G. Wodehouse. M. MacAndrew, Holmwood House. Mid Holm- wood. Dorking, Surrey. THE FLY PAPER by John Gilbert.......