What a novel! It has so much. You know no editor got his grubby hands on this one. Don't be put off by the title, which promises kinky melodrama. The book aims for social agitprop, but don't be put off by that, either. I do have one caveat: Beth Holmes has an unstated Christian agenda, in addition to the social one. It's unstated because it's taken as an absolute given. Some readers will quickly be alienated, around the point where the psychiatrist sits down to dinner with the disturbed family. If you're not horrified (as the psychiatrist is) that a father would allow his son to lead the family in saying grace--a permissiveness that is viewed by the author as sacrilege and horrific abuse--you'll probably be bewildered. And--just maybe--hooked.

The novel--about a demented Dad who drives his son nuts, while the boy's saintly mother fights to save him--calls for reform of child-abuse laws, which at the time of its writing punished only physical abuse. It dramatizes the need for parents to set boundaries, warning that a lack of discipline (i.e., spoiling them rotten) can be as cataclysmic as daily beatings. Some good old-fashioned, Christian discipline is what's called for. That's the pretense, anyway. The book illustrates something else: that the medium is, indeed, the message. The novel itself is like some freaky, naive, flipped-out adolescent, totally lacking in any sort of discipline or shame, filled with weird disgust. Holmes gooses her polemic with hysterical overwriting, zany plot-twists, and yes, kinky melodrama, which lead her into such Dr.-Seuss-on-drugs phrases as...sorry, I can't print any, but my favorite rhyme ends with the words "in lunatic drag." And that's not dialogue.

Much of the story is rather far-fetched, even for a pot-boiler. True, the twelve-year-old protagonist is described as good-looking, but his father can't leave him in the office for a minute without a secretary jumping into his lap. (Naughty boy!) Daddy finds this very annoying, since he likes to conduct nude wrestling matches with the boy on the living room rug. He doesn't mind the kid trying to murder people, including his own mother, and he lets him hang out at bus stations wearing lipstick and a beret, threatening sailors, but this girl stuff is out. Inexplicably, he decides to put the family finances and stock portfolios in the kid's jittery hands and give him total carte blanche. When bankruptcy results, he chases the kid onto the roof, hurling large pieces of furniture at him.

Like little Timmy, you start to wonder what Mom ever saw in this guy. Helpfully, the novel flashes back to the 'fifties, to the budding romance between Dan and Evie. One evening, after a hot date, Dan accuses Evie of rape and attempted murder. Of him. Instead of running for her life, Evie finds his "vulnerability" irresistible. After the wedding, she doesn't wonder too much about why Dan's always going on about her "hard-boy body," or why he enjoys walking around nude in public while, er, "tucked." Dan is so nauseated by women that he can't even look at a drawing of a cow without getting sick. From here, the narrative sky-rockets into total delirium. Evie and Timmy flee into the Deep South, in search of Answers, all of which seem to lie somewhere in Dan's twisted childhood. Holmes can't think of a plausible device for this, so she has them stumble upon Dan's secret Second Home, which is curated by a little old man who calls himself the "Keeper of the Shrine." Inside, of course, is an exact replica of their home up north, right down to the shag carpets and track lighting, except for one room: a weird museum holding relics of Dan's perversion. This room has portraits of his parents and sibs--a rogues' gallery of Irish inbred peasants--all of whom died mysteriously; a photo of the male camp-counselor who gave him VD when he was ten; the steel wool his monstrous mother used to scrape off his sores; pictures of Dan dressed as a little girl; you get the picture. The kicker is Dan's huge, demented journal, which the Keeper has been trying to turn into a best-selling memoir. Yes: the always-secretive Dan hopes to make himself rich and admired by displaying his sexual warts (real and figurative) to the world. Psychoanalytic short-cuts don't get much lamer than this.

Reading this book, you have no doubt that the grotesque characters are somehow based on real people. You wonder what "Dan" ever did to Beth Holmes. You worry about all the prurient brilliance that went into her fantasia of homosexual self-loathing. The earnest, can-do, social proselytizing makes you a bit queasy. But anyone who finds this book "serious," "thoughtful," "complex," etc, ought to be put under observation. If you have a sense of irony, please, please read this social-diatribe/get-even memoir/Christian sex fable, tricked out in lunatic drag. You'll chuckle about it for years.

A must read for anyone going into social work. I have read this book over and over again and have never been dissapointed in the story. It is both frightening and sad in the respect that abuse can be in the form of abscured love. The books message is timely dispite the age of the book who's setting is in the 1960's. The characters are complex enough to allow a reader to understand the dynamics behind the bizarre behavior of the parents and children.

Cecily Crowe should have gotten more recognition for her Gothics. Her heroines were strong, and capable of taking care of themselves. The heroine of Abbeygate holds her own, taking care of the master's children, even when there has been a murder.

This isn't one of those Gothics where the heroine suspects the brooding master of murder even though there isn't a shred of evidence. The master doesn't show up until after the murder, and though he has secrets, he's far from brooding. (He is charming, though!)

Cecily Crowe's "Northwater" was a better novel. But "Abbeygate" gave me the most pleasure.

My review for this story is that i really like this book alot.The two best things about this story is the suspense and mystery ,you can't wait to see what happens next.I also like the way the detective the hero Mr. Holmes always finds out what happens.

If you like cuddling up and reading a comfortabele book. This is the one. U will never not be amazed by the famous Sherlock Holmes. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the series of short stories that made the fortunes of the Strand Magazine, in which they were first publixhed, and won immense popularity for Holmes and Watson.Includes, "The Red-Headed League", "The Blue Carbncle" and my favorite,"The Speckled Band.

This book is an examination of the social mores of Victorian England as revealed through the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and in particular the twelve stories collected together as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

It places the Holmes phenomenon within the context of the development of detective fiction, recognising that they were written fairly early in the period where the hero identification changed from the villains (criminals) to their opponents (police and detectives) which resulted from the entrenchment of the middle classes in the fabric of society due to the relatively fairer sharing of society's resources.

Jann identifies the repression of the lower (working) classes inherent in the stories, where the middle and upper class characters have control over their lives but the lower classes seem almost programmed to follow their base urges and can be easily manipulated by Holmes into betraying their criminal activities. As also noted, women in general, regardless of their class, are similarly unable to move outside easily perceived behaviour. Those who can, like Irene Adler, are given masculine traits and then married off to ciphers.

A number of Victorian scandals and their influence on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing are identified.

For those students of Victorian history, or those interested in the Holmesian canon, this book provides insight and views from odd angles. I found it an easy read due to Jann's writing style, which detailed her arguments without bogging me down in verly technical language.

Alkaloids have diverse biological activities and offer a rich source for development of new therapeutic agents.

Once I had this book borrowed from a local library. It is an extensive alphabetical list of alkaloids containing a brief chemical, physical and pharmaceutical info under each alkaloid name. (Eg. melting points of the substance and its salts, solubilities, crystallisation, angles of rotation of polarised light, effects on ingestion, occurence in nature, etc.). Anyone with an interest in plant substances will find it interesting. The copy I have seen was printed in 1947 in New York, so today it may be a little out of date.

If you have ever wondered what a normal day in the life of an amish man or woman consists of, then you will thoroughly enjoy this book. The chapters are actually articles that were written for a special section in the Holmes County newspaper,specifically dealing with the ways of the Amish. The chapters deal with various customs and traditions of the Amish culture, how the Amish make their living, what a typical Amish School is like, and what is expected from them personally in their church.

This book only touched upon the history of the Amish people,and did not really talk about all their religious beliefs,but after reading it,I do feel like I have a better understanding of this culture. I found this book full of detail when it came down to the every day life of the Amish people.I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious about the Amish culture.

Growing up in Louisiana, I had heard various stories about Bernardo de Galvez and his role in aiding the Americans during the Revolution. John Caughey explains it all in this well-researched text, including many incidents and facts that surprised me. For instance, it has been documented that the English planned an attack on New Orleans during the American Revolution and would have had not the Spanish attacked their forts at Manchac and Baton Rouge first. Genealogists with ties to the American Revolutionary battles in Louisiana will also enjoy this book. The text becomes a bit tedious due to the scholarly nature, but that's a minor point. The trials, tribulations and accomplishments of this little-known American hero are sure to delight all readers.

As a beginning batch of Bible stories, "Bible for Me" brings a bounty of beautiful pictures and tells 12 important stories for the younger reader.

The "Bible For Me" board book is a fine collection of Bible stories. It has a nice creativity to the images, injecting quiet humor when possible. Noah, for example, is seen negotiating with a pair of skunks when boarding the ark.

Some things could be improved. In the story about Jonah, the artist neglected to show a picture of the big fish, key to the telling of the story. In fact, the two-page spread with Jonah fighting a storm on the boat is the only inconsistency, emphasizing the drama of the waves.

The writing is age-appropriate, though it is certainly meant that will be read by parents and caregivers. "Noah and his sons were as busy as bees. They were building a great big boat for God," begins the famous Noah's story. The other stories are like it. It will a good addition to your young one's bookshelf.

Anthony Trendl