CONSULT THE CRITICS.
The NEW YORK SUN says:
"Frederick R. Burton has supplied us with a cleverly constructed and interesting story in 'The Mission of Poubalov.' ... In regard to Mr. Burton's Russian police agent, we hasten to say that he has commended himself to us as both reasonable and interesting. As we remember, he does not once put himself to the conventional trouble of assuming a disguise, and yet he gets on remarkably well. Just as curiously, his business in New York is not to administer the vengeance of the Czar, but to do a kindly and charitable deed. The ordinary reader will be at no pains to discover and appreciate certain plain points about this story. It is a story with a plot, and the narrative is conscientiously and cleverly accomplished. Mr. Burton understands perfectly that very valuable principle of the storyteller's art whereby the curiosity of the reader is quickly aroused, duly maintained, and finally gratified. His police agent is a vigorous figure, and his heroine enjoys the distinction of being able to face some other aspect than that of lachrymose despair. She is an excellent heroine, a good talker and a sensible, clever person, and we cordially congratulate Mr. Burton upon her presence in his book. So we do congratulate him upon a generally capable and interesting story."
From THE BOSTON HERALD.
"The style of the story is not unlike that of the 'Mr. Barnes of New York' series, and the handling of mystery very nearly approaches Anna Katharine Green's dexterity.
Ingenious in plot, exciting in incident, and sensational enough even for warm summer afternoons, the volume teems with interest. The characters stand boldly forward in a drama that moves breathlessly along without a break to mar its smoothness, or to interrupt the clews relating to the sudden disappearance of a lover upon his wedding day, within an hour of the ceremony. Aside from this, the story is a singular instance of the constancy and faith of a woman who is worth loving. She spends her energy in trying to discover her lover, not in tears over his apparent desertion. Real power in a detective story is shown in keeping the mystery veiled until the end, and this Mr. Burton has done."
From THE CHICAGO DAILY NEWS.
"His story is of the sensational style—sensational in a clean and wholesome way—and proves the author has surmounted the first difficulties which usually attack the man who attempts to write a 'detective story.' There are no hitches or flagging of interest in spots, the plot is coherent and sufficiently intricate to cause a reader to sit up late to finish the tale, and the finale—that bunker at which ignominiously tumble most sensational writers—is logical and not to be quarreled with. Nothing puts a reader in such bad humor with his author as to be let down flat after an exciting chase. Mr. Burton sends one off on a sky rocket, perfectly satisfied.
Poubalov, who in the title arouses recollections of Gilbert Parker's or Mary Hartwell Catherwood's field of work, is that melodramatic character, a polished, impregnable, invincible, all-powerful, diabolical, Russian secret-service official.... Mr. Burton, if he improves, will rank with the best writers of exciting tales."
From THE YONKERS STATESMAN.
"One of the most readable and entertaining novels that we have read in some time is 'The Mission of Poubalov,' by Frederick R. Burton.... Mr. Burton seems rapidly to be making a name for himself in the literary world as a story-writer of much more than the average ability, and in this book he has constructed a plot which so fascinates the reader that one is loath to drop the volume until he has reached the page that bears 'The End;' then comes the feeling of satisfaction that he has read a good story, well told, abounding in interest, full of life and action, and having not a few startling surprises."
From THE ST. LOUIS STAR.
"This is a story of intricate plot and incessant action. It is safe to say that one who reads the first chapter will read the second, and from that to the third, and so to the end of the book will be a progression on the part of the reader that cannot well be avoided. The interest never flags. Poubalov himself is a powerful and fascinating character study; Miss Hillman is hardly less so, though necessarily the American girl is not so picturesque as the Russian spy; and the tragic force with which the weakness of the unhappy little tailor, Litizki, is set forth, adds immensely to the grip this story takes upon the reader's sympathies."
From THE SOMERVILLE CITIZEN, Somerville, Mass.
"Sensational reading is not always smooth reading and graceful writing is seldom sensational; but when a story is not only sensational, but strong in treatment and at the same time graceful in style, the reader derives rare pleasure from it and the author scores an unusual success. 'The Mission of Poubalov' is by Frederick R. Burton. It appeals particularly to the Bostonian, as the account is laid in that city. It is the superior of any popular novel treating of Boston society we have yet seen. It is a detective story without a detective, a love story without sentiment, yet teeming with subtlety and romance. The great majority of readers will try to finish the book at a sitting."
From THE BOSTON DAILY GLOBE.
"Next to an east wind when the mercury is dallying with the main truck, the most refreshing thing is a well-written, cunningly constructed fiction, a tale that makes friends with whoever picks it up. Such stories, to be sure, are rare, but once in a while, as with incoming waves, one will appear that looms high above its flat-chested mates, and, like the high roller, there is generally something to it. In 'The Mission of Poubalov,' Mr. Frederick R. Burton, who, while engaged in newspaper work, had an opportunity to study in real life characters necessary for the building up of an engaging fiction, has written a capital story of love, intrigue and adventure that grips the attention like a vise. It is an American story with a Russian flavor. The scene is Boston, and Mr. Burton plays his characters around the West and South ends of the city with the skill of a master at chess. The central figure, a Russian political exile, is introduced in his West end lodgings in preparation for his wedding, and very early in the book all the characters are moving briskly. An agent of the czar, who is by no means as bad as his countrymen have sketched him, plays a most intricate and interesting role. His real motive is deftly concealed from the reader until the lost bridegroom, who disappears in the first chapter, is found. Mr. Burton's heroine is a brave, determined, never-say-die young woman whose faith in her lover could not be shaken. She plays the part of detective in her own way which, coupled with the efforts of the apparent villain who was really trying to help her, heightens the interest of this very excellent story."
For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postage paid, on receipt of price, by the publishers,
STREET & SMITH, New York.