Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-05-22
,SPRINGTIDE FICTION
OF fARIED APPEAL
Plots Are Laid in Such Diverse
Places as The Vest of the
u. S. and the Orient

If the Northwest has its Rex Beach.
James Oliver Curwood. and Peter Il;
| Kyne, the Southwest is not far behind
In its fctional celebrators. One OF the
most knowing of them is jackson Greg I.
ory. who has written a corking good
novel in "The Bells of San Juan" And
| 1t has quite novel touch for the
locale, too. The hero is woman ana q
decidedly modern one. The location Is
ian old Mexican border town and TINS
| hero heroine Is woman surgeon who
takes prominent part In the romantic
and hazardous life of the community
from the time she hangs her sign out.
There Is a co hero too, a man whose
courage Is tested in his endeavors to
worst a villain aiming to loot the town;
sir. Gregory's story has unusual
literary distinction for this type OF tale
of action. And the action Is not sugar
coated by the style at that.
Edgar Wallace, who has written a
lot of them. has surpassed himself as
contriver Of mystery stories in Green
Rust" The heroine finds herself the
central figure in a conspiracy whlch
has for its purpose nothing less than
the wrecking of the world. The title
has to do with a mysterious discovery
which is to be the agency of destruc-
another and the authors trained faculty
of holding suspense keeps the reader
guessing as to what Is coming next till
the unexpected but logical and plausible
climax Is reached.
"The Grey Mask" is another mystery
story, q somewhat different sort of ,de-
tective thriller. The detective in Wads-
worth Camps new novel is not an in.
fallible Hawkshaw, not n 100 per cent
ratiocinative Holmes. He is human
being who does something not at all
customary in sleuth fictfOn-he makes
mistakes. AS somebody says about him,
he, has u boys heart under his badge.
This is nice angle of approach for
hearts are anxious to have badges over
them. and in lieu of that to read the
exploits of detectives. He Is human
enough to fall in love, too, with the
chiefs daughter, herself by no means
an amateur at analyzing and detecting
crime. A gang of hardened and clever
criminals form the opposing forces and
how the hero and the girls efforts to
round them up and end their career OF
terrorism entangle and finally are
Strengthened out forms the basis and
substance of an adroitly told detective
story.
Is. Nj. bowers gifts OF intimate COM
munication with the West, with a sym
pathetic insight into western character
and touch of humor to SAVIOR 1t, are
revealed again in Rim o the World "
The hardness and directness and bluff
ness Of the western character are
matched by the robust quality of the
comedy passages. and there is some
relieving sentiment which is not sugary
or mawkish. The locale is part of
Idaho where the terrain is shut in by
desert waste and mountain ranges. A
feud. business and social, between two
families, one somewhat reformed
bad family, with some stigma yet,
backgrounds the story. and Of course
there is an ameliorating and finally
harmonizing love theme between young
er members of the families. The author
has filled the story with abundant hap
penings, and the reader of this class
Of story will find many n thrill in its
pages. It is we.. up to the writer, $
standard, ds divulged in many a previ-
Gus book of action.
"At Fame's Gateway" is the mar
rative of sort of personal biography