"Spirit of the Straightedge" is not your typical "...-woman-deals-with-adversity-and-comes-out-on-top novel". Maybe if Jim Thompson (i.e., Killer Inside Me, The Grifters, After Dark, My Sweet, etc.) was writing an "... book," but then he'd be hard pressed to improve upon Babs Lakey's efforts. Babs tells the story of two abused characters in a rapid fire first person perspective which shifts between the characters and gives the reader an almost God's eye view of the unfolding story. The details are dealt out piece by piece so that the reader is given the big picture of the two main protagonists and how their lives molded who they are. The contrast in the psychopathy of the two characters reminds me of a discussion on Batman and the Joker's personalities that appeared at the time of the first Michael Keaton movie. Batman's just as nuts as the Joker, but he comes at it from another perspective. The same is true with Els, who has survived a similar family unit as Peter both of their childhoods molding their adult lives.

"Spirit of the Straightedge" deals mainly with nurture causes and foregoes looking into any of the natural enablers of its characters' personalities. This book isn't for the squeamish and is very graphic in its depictions of life. It's never gratuitous, but it's neither for the sensitive reader nor possibly for those who have survived similar childhoods. It's a fascinating read nonetheless. This is book one in a series of psychological suspense novels coming from Babs Lakey ... hopefully she doesn't make us wait long and hopefully she takes her unwavering and dissecting eye beyond what evils men do and includes more of the fairer sex too. Not that she's unfair in her representation of men. She goes beyond that to show the evils enabled and caused by the women involved in the story as well, but Peter's mother for example leaves this reader wanting to know more and Babs Lakey will no doubt deliver.

I'm a student and I don't have a lot of time to read for enjoyment, so I have to ration myself. This book held my interest to the end and I passed it on to my roommate, who is still immersed in it. We give it two thumbs up!

Elsie is a frightening person. Outwardly she's as normal as we, but inside....

How Babs Lakey could write such a spine tingling novel and still remain sane is a miracle.

If you're into retribution (and some people deserve it) then read Spirit of the Straight Edge. You'll not forget it easily.

"Spirit of the Straight Edge" is one of those books that makes you understand why people have to self publish. Despite the other reviews here, most of which I believe are from friends of Ms. Lakey's, the book is a major disappointment to an objective reader, which I am since I'm not a writer/author. Also, as Ms. Lakey is the publisher of a mystery magazine I'm sure many people don't want to offend her, especially if like G. Miki Hayden (one of the customer reviewers here) they have been published in that magazine and want to be published there again. I believe Henry Slesar, who does not give a customer review but an editorial one, has also been published by Ms. Lakey. So what does this tell you about the ethics of this business?

But on to the story: If you click on the editorial reviews button here on Amazon and read the excerpt from the book, you will see how breathless it is and how poor the writing really is. Try this on for an example: "I'm going to murder a man. That fact has become my obsession, and obsession my master." Or how about this: "I walked briskly through the restaurant door and 'slap'-the scent of their house blend tea hit hard. My knees buckled." Is that original and creative writing? And unfortunately it doesn't get much better as the story plods along.

The thing Ms. Lakey should be obsessed with is good writing and creating an interesting story that isn't cliched and a near carbon copy of so many others. And then there's the price,...

I'm sorry to be so harsh on this book. I wanted to like it. It has a decent premise and a mildly promising opening. Unfortunately, I don't think it holds up in either the writing or the story telling.

Babs Lakey has written an exciting, scary, sexy thriller that is a must read for anyone that enjoys mysteries or RED DRAGON type books about serial killers. Ms. Lakey does a masterful job of getting inside her characters heads and making them come to life.

Don't start this one unless you have an entire evening dedicated to reading, because once you start you won't be able to put it down until you've finished. Fortunately, there are two more Lakey novels that follow her anti-heroine Elsie Saunders.

Bravo Ms. Lakey!

Your gut wrenches at the first bloodletting and gets tighter and tighter. You are silent screaming. You're sweating. And that is just the first chapter.

Excellent book on French vernacular farmhouses. It compares well with several dissertations that I have read on the subject. I too am looking for a copy of this book. French language version will be acceptable as well. The publisher stopped printing this one too quickly. If anyone can help, please let me know. E-mail is mitchelll@nku.edu

I met this book in a collection in a rented house near Cour Cheverny. I have a French Farmhouse about five kilometers from there and am going to do some restoration when I live there. This book is very helpful in showing details of construction in both French and english terms. I also enjoyed identifing the style details in the buildings around the Touraine. The book is very well organized and represents a great amount of work and research. Amazon found me a like new copy at less that new price. A great service.

I started my search for a copy of this book nearly 3 years ago, and so far no luck. I can't believe the publisher abandoned it so soon after its initial publication. I've tried contacting the publisher via email, phone, regular mail but they won't respond. I've begged and pleaded with them to reprint it, but so far unsuccessful. An acquantance owns an English copy that I made a copy of. After showing it to many architectural coworkers, I made multiple copies from my copy for them; yes, I've even asked for permission to make copies, but still no response. The publisher has no idea how they're missing out! And how the rest of the architectural world is suffering without access to this wonderful book. Can't wait to find a copy. (...)

I listened to the Author's daughter explain about the making of this book and about some of the details in the paintings. It was remarkable! Ken Stark did a fabulous job researching the history and painting accurate pictures to go with the story. After listening to the speaker my Grandma and Mom talked for an hour easy about what it was like growing up in Illinois.
Great read for young and old alike!

Normally I do not read many children's books but the cover ofGrowing Seasons caught my eye as Susan unpacked [the] book...

Leafing through the book caused me to feel very nostalgic, reliving the time when I was a young boy on a small Pennsylvania farm in the late 1930's. Detailed artwork and attention to detail in all the illustrations make a person feel part of the activity being described.

Elsie Lee Splear must be congratulated on her factual portrayal of farm life in the 1900's and her choosing an outstanding artist who's attention to detail produced outstanding illustrations of family farm life in the 1900's.

This book should be read by people of all ages to better understanding what farm life was like in the 1900's.

Can anyone imagine not having an inside toilet and must use the little house out back many times referred to as the "outhouse" with only remnants of an old Sears catalogs which served the need at hand and also provided the patron some reading. Can one believe a life without Charmin?

I highly recommend the younger generations to buy this book, study the wonderful detailed paintings and enjoy reading the descriptions of how it used to be before television. I will always cherish this book and when I need a pick-me-up, I will browse through Growing Seasons and reminisce about the times that were.

GROWING SEASONS lets the reader in on farm life nearly 100 years ago: chores before dawn, life without electricity,refrigeration,or running water,and raising almost everything needed by the family. It also shows the simple joys to be found in rural life: picnics, Christmas services, Fourth of July celebrations,and reading while tending the cows. Ken Stark's realistic illustrations help the reader step back in time to more richly savor the various aspects of being a tenant farmer a century ago.

The story numerous everyday events: homework by the kitchen stove, homemade dresses for Christmas, perserving meat before refrigeration, cooking for days to feed a threshing crew, and hiding from tornadoes. This is an excellent children's book for learning about farm life in the early 1900's.

DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT is a rare ethnic romance between an Asianhero and Caucasian heroine. For this I applaud Mrs. Larsen and ThomasNelson Publishers. The story is a unique romance showing how love can prevail over prejudice and bigotry. It is nice to see someone writing the stories I would like to read as well as giving me the hope of a market for my personal Japanese romances. Thank you, Mrs. Larson, I enjoyed reading your novel.

This is a lovely story about good people in a horrible situation. Jean is very real, she grows slowly into a kind, mature woman. Tom is incredible. The book has a very deep message about prejudice and responsibility for your own actions.

I enjoyed this book very much. I found it by accident at an outlet mall on a discount counter. The book was so good I came on line as soon as I finished it to find the next one in the series. I can't wait to find out why life has in store for Tom and Jean! I hope the next book will be available soon.

As an obtuse Yank living in the UK, Debrett's Guide was a "must have" for navigating my way through English society. In a country where people pay close attention to seating order, thank you notes, and all of the other formalities of etiquette, Debrett's is the only way to survive with one's dignity.

I don't think it is an essential in the US, as most of the etiquette is too obscure, so as to be irrelevent (i.e., what to wear at Royal Ascot).

An invaluable guide which saved me the embarrassment of announcing my own engagement to my deceased wife's paternal grandmother. Buy it whether you need to know the correct way to throw up on a Japanese minister at an official banquet or simply whether or not to flush solids if you need to drop a foal in the night when staying with friends. (Debrett's guidance on the above by the way is - when vomiting over a foreign dignitary, aim for the sternum, and always flush solids unless you can cover them with a thick wad of tissue.)

As a voracious reader of everything, but especially social history and even more of olde new york, I was so excited to discover this book. But, it is hard to plow through the verbiage, repetition, and confusion of this book. Each of these woman could have been the subject of her own book and Lewis has done little in the first three quarters to give us anything so we may understand connections that merit their lives being twined together in this fashion. Also, Lewis has tried hard to develop mystery and suspense where there doesn't need to be any - these ladies are great just the way they are, the endless foreshadowing, broad hinting and leaving a story just when it gets interesting is rather silly. The author has obviously done detailed research, but I found it confusing enough to have to jump back and forth between the narratives about the four subjects, but threw up my hands as chapter after chapter began with three pages on someone new who turned out to be the sister or next door neighbor of one of the subjects. Whew, I finally deconstructed the thing by reading each woman's story through by picking it out of the morass. What a shame, because these are interesting women.

Each of these women could easily have had their own biography, but the author does a pretty good job of covering all four, their relationships with their world and each other. This book is a bit disorganized, but once you sort out the characters, this is a wonderful view of four outstanding women and their world.

Thank you Alfred Allan Lewis for creating a book of these spirited women who were the backbone of New York City, American society and worldwide. They are invisible in our history books, but thanks to you and your accuracy for facts their spirit remains alive!

These women influenced their power, money, political and social status to unite and heal mankind. I should know, I was there........to carry on, and say every "Queen" to there own home..

Laura's Secret is written straight from the heart! Laura's story is both poignant and absorbingly interesting for what it reveals about love during two world wars. The explicit sexuality is surprising - but convincing. The author has not shied away from a realistic portrayal of passion in the lives of two nurses. The ending was touching. It made me cry!

This novel is so very reminiscent of Cookson but spiced with relatively graphic sexual situations. A young woman, who of low birth, through dint of her own virtues of hardwork and high moral ethic succeeds against life's odds and travails. However, here are two protagonists--both women--who succeed in spite of hardship. The period that encompases the novel is Edwardian (prior to 1914) and until after World War 2, and the setting England. Although it's an historical novel and a romance--it contains many elements that are different: the protagonists are women who are emancipated and career-minded without denying their need for love while never becoming simpering and dependent. They revel in their strength and take charge of their lives which are lived by a strong moral code based on the virtues of loyalty, integrity, courage, caring, kindness and good humor. It is a charming novel, an easy read and ideal for those summer days when one wants to travel--if not in reality then through the pages of an entertaining novel.

If you're learning C for the first time; perhaps the first programming language you have ever learnt, you can't go wrong with this book. Whether you are targetting UNIX, Windows, or perhaps the Amiga, you can't go wrong with starting at the bottom and learning the basics. This book takes you quickly and painlessly through those first steps

because it is so ridiculous it makes me laugh. i mean, come on!
elsie is a perfect girl who goes to aunts house who's name i don't even remember and is instantly chased by a fortune hunter. (did i mention that she is also rich and beautiful?) so,
elsie is so naive that she doesn't realize he is [bad]instead she goes along with it, but of course saying that "she can do nothing without papa's permission" and blushes about 15 times in
a single chapter. then to the surprise of us all her fathers friend steps in and discovers the "bad guy" for who he really is, elsie is heart-broken but she submits to papa who is the most strict father alive and then at the end of the book she gets engaged to her fathers friend who is twice her age!
okay, i'm out of words, but if this review sounds complimentary
then i have failed horribly.

I think my favorite part of this book was Aunt Wealthy, who keeps putting the hind part first in her speach, such as "Horace, will you please step up on that figurine so you can get the ladder down from the shelf?" (Horace, will you please step up on that ladder so you can get the figurine down from the shelf?"

In response to one review I read, I think the reason why Elsie was so niave is because she was deeply in love with Broomly, the money seeker, and unfortuanatly in her case, 'love covers a multitude of sins.'

If she had been just a little bit the rebel, she would have married Broomly Earginton and got in to a whole lot of mess.

Also, Edward Travilla was not twice her age, he was only 8 or 9 years older than her, and if my memory serves me correctly, Princess Diana was 13 years younger than the Prince. So much for age! (And if its any consolation, Mr. Travilla dies in a couple of years.)

Sorry if thats a spoiler, but one of the titles of the books is "Elsie's Widowhood."

Other than that, I really enjoyed this book, and I do reccommend it.

I think "Elsie's Girlhood" is a wonderful book. It is wholesome and adventurous. Elsie faces many challenges in this book, and it is inspiring to read this story. I think girls will enjoy this book, as it is very interesting.