New-York tribune., 1921-05-04
Books u.,,,.; By e,...

Find the Woman (Cosmopolitan) by
Arthur Somers Roche, is lively and
entertaining story of adventure. We
! were somewhat surprised when nobody
was shot, or stabbed or robbed, or in
fact had anything Of vital consequence
happen to him in the first sentence.
The Roche formula usually provides
that the story shall leap away in the
frst chapter like a hundred-yard
sprinter leaving the mark. Find the
Woman varies this plan. GAS the
taxi stopped" it begins, CLANCY
leaned forward. Yes, she'd read the
sign Alright. 1t was Fifth Avenue that
she saw before her"
Even on to the end of the chapter
went Clancy. without meeting single
adventure until the very end. when q
strange woman i'll the hotel room next
door asked her to help hook up =
dress. Naturally all sorts of happen
ings dire, dreadful and delightful
arose from, that incident, but Mr.
Roche has not been in quite such a
hurry as usual. We prefer the pres
ent technique. Although an impatient
reader, we do not like to be asked to
step on board novel which is going
full speed before the first sentence
has been finished. The novelist, we
think, does better to make sure that
his passenger is comfortably seated
before he sends the contrivance awav
with jerk.
No complaint on the score of lack
OF Incident can be made against Find
the Woman once it has begun to move.
Before Clancy Deane has been in New
York two weeks she is wanted for
murder by the police, for marriage by
the Assistant District Attorney and a
less fortunate rival, and by several
crooked gamblers as a material wit
ness in cheating scrape. Lest it be
held that we have overstepped the
prerogatives Of a reviewer in ~reveal;ne
the fact that, the Assistant District, At
torney loved Clancy not In vain. wa
hasten to add that we feel no COM
Functions fcrthis give away, since Roche
himself 7divulges the secret even be-
fore he begins his novel. "Lat Philip
win his Clancy" runs The first line Of
MS Thymed dedication to Ethel Petit
Hocne, and 50 the reader has only TO
md Philip to know which suitor
Clancy is going to favor at the end
When We found him some place
about the middle Of the book and
realized that he was the Assistant
District Attorney we did not worrv
much about the murder charge against
Clancy Deane. But then We neve,
mad. The author oblisingly let's his
readers know from the beginning that
she is innocent. The manner In which
Roche has contrived to build up ! cir
I'cumstantial case against his heroine II
ingenious and to US, as to Clancy. the
news OF the murder came as sur
prise. She had fought with Morris
Beiner when he locked the door Of his
ofice and tried to kiss her and she
had managed to trip him up SO that he
fell and struck his head against a desk.
He was stunned but he was not dead.
When she heard knock on the door
she fed down the Are escape. One can
imagine her horror, therefore, when
she read next day in the morning
paper that Babe Ruth had made not
q single home run and then, as her
eye strayea, Theatrical Man Found
Slain Morris Beiner Stabbed to
Death in His Own Ofice."
One fact sbout the murder could
hardly have served to surprise Clancy
Deanes eveh though she was an unso-
phistieass ssd young woman from Maine.