Three Exploits of M. Parent. Translated from the French of
Jules Lermina. (Osgood, McIlvaine, and Co.)—M. Parent is an eminent amateur detective, somewhat resembling the ingenious person who figures in Edgar Poe's "Purloined Letter" and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." The first and longest story, "Neck or Nothing," is not the best. A reader with no great gift for con- jecture will guess at an early period in the narrative who was the real criminal. "The Money-Bag" is better, and will, give, it is probable, a genuine surprise. The third story has the title of "The Nail."—The Queen against Owen, by Allen Upward (Chatto and Windus), may be classed with the volume noticed above. It is a detailed account of a criminal trial, the accused being a beautiful girl who is charged with the murder of an old lady with whom she lived as companion. Here, too, the reader will probably find a surprise. But we cannot help thinking that the surprise is obtained at the cost of an improbability. To our mind the best part of the book is the representation, photo- graphic in its fidelity, of the proceedings which take place in the Court. This is evidently done by some one who is familiar with his subject.
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