Evening star., 1927-09-25
REVIEWS OF THE NEW BOOKS
Fiction for Autumn Days History Travel and Romance
With Mystery Story for Lovers
of Thrilling Tales

NEW TOWNS FOR OLD. BY John
Nolen. introduced by Albert Shaw.
Boston: Marshall Jones co.
HERE, in easily available form and
AA sourced In authority, Is matter of
deep general interest. Hardly any one
riding through the country In a
motor---and literally everybody does
this-who has not noticed the I'M
proved looks OF the villages and ham
let's stretched along the way. The
wayside hotels are, many of them.
models Of comfort and accommoda'
ton. The shops and streets and
houses are markedly on their way
toward the creation Of lovely and
healthful towns. The automobile and
the radio are building roads and
uniting distances in a network OF
immediate contact and example. And
here is the story of the growth OF
many small towns under the intiu-
ence OF such prompt and widespread
communication. The purpose OF the
book Is to give in general plan and in
a suff1ciency Of detail some Of the
things that have been done here and
there In the way of civic improvement.
An outstanding advantage Of the vol.
ume is that it deals with actual
achievement and not with plans to be
objectified in some uncertain future.
1t is concrete In the use Of places that
have come under the Improvement
schedule, here pictured and charted
for the assurance and inspiration OF
readers interested in such public.
spirited enterprise as the beautiflca-
ton of towns and their surroundings.
The advantage Of the textbook Is
here, since this work gives definite
method and summarizes actual re-
suits. The disadvantage Of the text
book is clearly absent from this study
since it Is a live and interesting treat.
ment Of a very important movement.
The economic and social value Of
better towns is set out here. The
necessity of the spirit of cooperation
is also emphasized. a spirit that is
bound to work out benefcially In
many other directions than the par
ticular one arousing it. OF the author
himself. Mr. Shaw says. II know OF
no man who better understands this
movement than does the eminent land
scape architect and town planner"-
John Nolen. A book for the planning
commissions of town and village, for
the interested individual as we'll
" X Y
THE CANARY" MURDER CASE.
BY s. S. Van Dine, author of The
Benson Murder Case etc. New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
A GOOD third of. this mystery tale
"a goes into the generally futile
posturings of pseudo-sleuths that over
burden this stripe of adventure. Better
than the most of them in this respect
at that. Perhaps such f1ddling efforts
are a necessary preliminary to actual
action. 1t looks that way. Possibly
the entrance of a Philo Vance--mas
ter hand in hunting crime-requires
the clearing away Of the accumulated
incompetency in order to bring out in
shining light his own psychological
power of deduction as to motive and
method of crime itself. However, this
may be, it is not long here before the
reader Is in the middle of things with
Vance himself. Canary" had been
most brutally made away with. No,
not a bird, not in any strict manner
Of speaking. A beautiful and generous
lady, instead, with admirers of sum.
cient number and sufficient incertitude,
each in his own role of admirer-in-
chief, to pave the way for many mur.
ders, provided only that the lady had
been a cat with it's nine lives, instead
of simple canary" with only one.
Well, she was dead-awfully dead. And
the bushes of mailing the murderer Is
In full swing. The trouble is that IL
swings In several different directions
all Of equal lure, all of equal promise,
for the moment at least. A really in
teresting todo projects the pursuit
The quarry is Of unusual type. Two
are men Of affairs against whom. but
for the frail f1uttering of the canary"
there could have been no breath Of sus
picion. Two are less impeccable, there
fore are first open to doubt. AdroitIy
Mr.. Van Dine holds these lines ~ pos.
sibility open. playing each one up to a
certain point of plausible pursuit till II
sound bit Of new logic intervenes TO
divert him to one Of the other lines.