Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-09
Phiia-

TAKING CHANCES BY NJ j. Farrell Phila-
delphia: J. B Lippincott Company.
THE age-old story of the sirens is here
= moved forward into today. Helen and
Dido and Cleopatra and the rest of the dew
aStating tribe here distilled off into the
being Of young woman who carries ON under
the disarming name of Mary And Mary Ii
a fair pattern-a sample in the parlance of
trade-of straight action. Devotion .ato the
business in hand-that of rendering quite help
ess every youth who comes within her sphere
of influence-that is Mary's engrossment. The
story would be of q wearying monotony Of
conquest had not the writer provided back
ground of scene and action calculated to pro-
vide comfort stations and rest rooms for the
reader. This background is interesting and
exceedingly well projected. A country quar-
ter of the gsntry-houSes filed with guests,
hunting the daily business of these, with ex-
citing runs in beautiful quarter, to revive
readers and prepare them TO so along With
Mary In her further depredations. And not
only Is it the background that this author has
projected well Mary herself Is q triumph.
A ruthless and IaWIess devourer Of men, poor
things. Mary looks like q baby and much Of
the time carries herself with the innocence
of infancy. Then she Is at her worst Mary
steals husbands and transforms brothers into
deadly enemies The story is one of com
plete and irremedable diSaster-yet IL Is ex-
tremely well done. with n theme that bulges
with excess. thus writer Is restrained at every
point little of Mary goes q long way. Miss
Farrell knows this and acts accordingly. and
out Of her own sense Of proportion, ont of
her good art Of building. q most excessive
matter becomes story plausible rs human
nature and of artistry that cannot fail to
please the exacting reader
THE AMAZING WEB. by Harry stephen
Keeler, author Of Sing Sing nights etc.
New York: Z. P. Dutt0n q Co.
THE web" Is ali of that-"amazing The
matter begins IN . more or less common
place trial for the small crime of theft This
episode has little TO do with subsequent pro-
ceedIngs. 1t serves chiefly to introduce tho
young lawyer on the case, who at that point
learns the lesson that is to pat vim, vigOr and
acuity into his further course as a criminal
lawyer. He rather fell down on that FIRST
case, with effects much more significant i'm
the long run than any mere single fall could
be expected to produce. The bulk of this baSi-
ness hinges upon the murder Of young society
man in his own apartment and upon the sus-
picion that grows around one Of his own class,
friend. The matter gets along by way of the
trial Of this accused friend. Rather, It can
hardly be said to get along. since the youth
refuses single item Of information even to
the lawyer having his case in hand In q
practical admission Of every sort OF damning
evidence. suspicion, he throws himself, a
dead weight. upon his advocate. Then around
the two. suspect and lawyer, there wind such
coils of intrigue and plot to bewilder almost
hopeiessly. not only these two, but any other
person trying to follow on through the maze
Of villainy that nothing less than genius is
weaving around them. Soon. without rhyme
or reason. or so it seems at first, old stories
begin to rise about the doings of pirates along
the coast of America. Stories Of Capt. Kidd
in his daring raids and in his savage cruelties
to those IN his power who questioned his treat
ment of them. This tale of old days moves
gradually into the current matter of that
murder. And-this is q good place to stop.
You would better take up the book yourself
for the sake Of an ambitious adventure in
story invention; for the sake of the daring
of the author in making use of vengeance its
author dead hundreds OF years. yet Of a per-
sistent, living vengeance embodied and revisit
ing the phases of the moon for another try
toward its own satisfaction Of fun requital.