Review: The Case of the Sulky Girl, Murder in Mayfair, the Riddle of the Ravens
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X3400700318 |
| Date | 01 July 1934 |
| Published date | 01 July 1934 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEWS
POLICE
UNIFORMS
OF
THE
WORLD. By
MAJOR
F.
GILBERT
BLAKESLEE.
Author of Sword play for Actors, Uniforms of the World.
Illustrations by Bert Offord. Plimpton Press, Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
1934. Price $
5.00
(post free).
COF making many books there is no
end;
and much study is a weariness of
the flesh.' Much study of the letter-press of this book would assuredly
weary many readers,
but
it may serve those responsible for the sartorial
details of police uniforms as a useful book of reference.
The
IS0
illustrations, however, may appeal to a far wider circle. These
show at a glancethe chief varieties of uniform provided for the multitudinous
duties of police in every climate under the
sun;
from the smart (scarlet)
tunics and fur coats of the Royal North West Mounted Police of Canada to
the bare-headed, skirt clad and bare-footed native constable of Fiji.
The
uniform of the police-women of New York is described;
but
although there is a very liberal allowance of letter-press and figures for the
police forces of the British Empire, no mention appears to be made of the
police-women, or CSpecial' constabulary, of London.
THE
CASE
OF
THE
SULKY
GIRL.
By E. S.
GARDNER.
(Harrap.)
7s. 6d. net.
MURDER
IN
MAYFAIR. By J. G.
BRANDON.
(Methuen.)
7S.
6d. net.
THE
RIDDLE
OF
THE
RAVENS. By
LEONARD
R.
GRIBBLE.
(Harrap.)
7s. 6d. net.
IT would be interesting to know what proportion the police form among the
ranks of regular detective-story readers.
The
detective novel is rarely of value
for educational purposes to the real detective,for the fiction world necessitates
aconstruction which is very different usually from the crimes of real life.
The
first of these stories is American, and its atmosphere is so American
that it is like reading a book in a foreign language.
The
attorney, the heroine,
the witnesses and officials of the trial behave and act in a manner which is
entirely unfamiliar to the British policeman.
This
book merely leaves one
astonished at the rapidity with which the American nation have developed
their own methods and procedure.
Mr. Brandon's book is, on the other hand, essentially English.
The
hero is a P. C. Wodehouse type of character with an equally typical man-
servant who assists his master in a good deal of "rough-house ' knock-about
in which together they invariably overcome the heaviest odds against them.
There is not overmuch genuine detective strategy and we have the '
stage'
Scotland Yard superintendent who is always wrong and always scored off
by the muscular amateur.
This
all makes for amusing reading
but
does not
carry us much further.
Mr. Gribble has added another volume to his list. He follows the path
of more orthodox detective fiction, and The Riddle of the Ravens will not
disappoint his admirers who look to him to give them both thrills and mystery.
It
is certainly the best story he has yet written and Inspector Slade once more
emerges with flying colours. There are improbabilities of
course-but
the
detective author has his licence.
38i
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