Evening star., 1924-03-16

and the savor Of those surroundings
in which Cynthia Stockley Is so mnch
at home.
THE MYSTERY WOMAN. BY Alice
MCGOWAN and Perry Newberry. au-
thors Of '"The Million Dollar Suit
case" New York: Frederick A.
Stokes Company.
If a woman is reading this story
she is more than likely to loosen her
hold on the mystery itself because of
anxiety lest Jerry Boyne, detective
and old enough to know better. is go
that foreign actress with the silly
name Mimi" II a man is reading 1t
he will hang on to the fact that a
man with oodles of money for an Ash
atlc investment upon his person has
disappeared. He will tell you that
not only the agents of justice and the
pursuers of crime are keen to the fate
OF that man, but that the partners In
the corporation also have vital in
1esnss TN IN the the whereabouts of both the
follow all the ins and outs of the
search, all the new suspects, all the
fresh trails, all the blind alleys. He
win tell you that Jerry Boyne is all
may look against him nor what silly
woman readers may fear for him. He
Will point you upon Jerry's friends
upon Lin Olds, newsboy and adoring
Il
as well; upon Skeet Thornhill, girl
reporter and all-around scout. and
upon others who are as anxious for
Jerry to come out on top as they are
for the ends of justice to be met.
And when, after no end Of exciting
and not unbelievable to-do, Jerry
Boyne is as much of a hero as the
case itself is one of tremendous i'm
port, why. then, both men and women
settle down in peace for themselves
and praise for the two artful people
who made the thing up out of whole
cloth.
BROOD OF THE WITCH-QUEEN. By
Sax Rohmer. author of Tales of
Secret Egypt" etc. New York:
Doubleday, Page & Co.
Take the odds and ends Of magic
lore which here and there you have
come upon. Mix with these such
threads of tradition and history as
you may have gathered about the
ancient Egyptian as past masters in
the arts of magic, sOrcery and a
general hand-in-glove with the devil,
or with gods more terrible than Satan
himself would ever have the nerve
to be. Add a ch Ids ready belief in
the Impossible. Merely to say that
for the reading of this story one has
to induce particular state of mind.
That done, he is ready to Jump into
the weird tale with zest and some
sort OF believing. London. The
strange taking off Of this important
person. Then that one. Signs of
actual violence are lacking. Signs Of
creepy significance, however. do ap-
pear. Michael Ferrara, great Egyp-
tologist, is the first of these victims
soon interest centerS on his foster
son, Antony Ferrara. of mo t mystic
rious parentage. The story shifts to
Egypt. And around the birth and
being Of Antony Ferrara such facts
and influences arise as to send shivers
up and down and roundabout the
readers person. There will be no
:dle moment for one to rearrange his
thinkings, to get his denials on top.
Just as ne is coming to these points
ne IS rushed OFF into something so
terrifying and SO beguiline as to
make rational processes look like
poor things indeed. One comes ont
of the sensational orgy into which
the adventure launches him with a
distinct res S.,ect for an author who
really succeeds in putting over this
bizarre business with so much of an
effect of credibility about it.