Give Em The Ax by A. A. Fair

2.5 Stars

I remember watching old B&W films like this when I was a kid. You know, the kind where you sit through an hour of chain smoking, red herrings and bantering thug slang ("Have you got the dope on that jane, Lover? "), and when the curtain falls and the credits start to roll you turn to your companion, "So what happened?"

Well this was kind of like that. WW2, private eye detective agency, a nightclub, long legged cigarette seller, double crossing, legal cross examining and an ax murder. Lots of people and plots that may or may not mesh together, but while the whole package is mildly entertaining, I can't imagine wanting to reread this to fully understand it. And no, I didn't really understand it. 

Bottom line: If you're a fan of WW2 crime/ detective stories of the "dime novel " variety, you might want to check this out. 

CONTENT:
SEX: None
PROFANITY: Liberal sprinklings of D, H, GD, B
VIOLENCE: None shown
MY RATING : PG (for profanity)

Moths by Ouida

The title "Moths" is allegorical for Society's women, who either spend their lives munching on ermine and gravitating to flames of corruption, or, as so rarely happens that it's notable when it does, rising to the stars in innocence and purity.

Vere grew up with her grandmother in the wholesome English air. But when she reached the age of 16, she was sent to the Riviera to live with her mother, Lady Dolly, a well liked but ammoral dame of Society. Having Vere under her roof is a thorn in Dolly's side, making her feel old; and Vere's solemn eyes and disapproving demeanor cramp Dolly's spontaneous frivolity. So on the advice of her shallow friends, Lady Dolly decides to get Vere wedded as soon as possible.

She, in effect, sells Vere off in marriage to the highest bidder; a cruel, selfish, loose-living but immensely rich Russian Count. In his depravity, he attempts to singe "The Moth" into becoming like all other society women. Vere stays true to her principles and to her innocence's true love, a famous opera singer by the name of Correze.

This novel is a real indictment on Society and Society's marriages which were often little more than a matching of names and titles but had no love, respect or honor. Both husbands and wives freely embarked in flirtations and "discreet" affairs while whittling away their time, money and usefulness with travel, castle hopping, gambling and more dress changes than a one-man theatre production.

As is usual with Ouida, the writing is impeccable and rich, but very wordy and at times repetitious. She sometimes bends to the weakness of thinking for her readers even when the meaning is indisputable. I found this a bit frustrating. Also, we are made to wait until the last gasping breath for a whiff of a "happy ever after" and for me it was a case of "too little too late".

Bottom line: Not one I would reread any time soon but still a finely crafted novel

CONTENT: 
SEX: None shown, frequent talk of mistresses
VIOLENCE: Very mild
PROFANITY: Very mild
MY RATING: PG (for thematic elements)

Our Emily by Mary Jane Staples

So in "Our Emily", book 2 in the Adams family chronicles, we have the kids all pretty much grown up.

Boots is back from the war, married and making due with his disability until an operation hopefully gives him his freedom back. 
Ned and Lizzy are building a family, Tommy trying to find work in a depressed economy and Sammy making a killing in his various business ventures. Emily is still very much Emily, excelling in her workplace but feeling a failure as a wife.

The title is a bit of a misnomer as the book dwells equally as much on Sammy and his enterprises (and possible romance) as it does on Emily and Boots. (In fact, the cover picture is of Susie, not Emily at all, although they got the hair color wrong)

I found this book weaker than the the first one (Down Lambeth Way). It seemed to rely too heavily on cheeky banter/ flirting than real happenings and some of the humor was rather off color. I especially didn't like the flirting carried on by married individuals to those not their mates.
It is still a good story but some bits were disappointing to me.

CONTENT:
SEX: A few brief, non-explicit-but-still-tmi-moments, (may not be appropriate for young readers); some off color humor and innuendos, frank talk about making love, conception/ contraception, as well as illegitimacy and sowing wild oats.
VIOLENCE: A few get beat up (not described blow for blow)
PROFANITY: G, JC, B's
MY RATING: PG-13 (for sexual content)

Down Lambeth Way by Mary Jane Staples

"Down Lambeth Way" is the first book in a 29 book series of the Adams saga. The covers in the series look YA but they're really not. By that, I don't mean to say they're neccesarily inappropriate, but it depends on the age of the reader, some subject matter may be a little mature or intense for very young readers. (I'll explain in the content section below).

I think first books in a series are very much like pilot episodes on TV. Some time is by neccesity taken up in the introduction of characters, setting the scenes, the backgrounds, the personalities etc. For the first 80-100 pages you might just assume its a cheeky cockney YA story with lots of playful characters but not much substance. But its so much more. Just give it time.

In this series, we start with a cockney family, fatherless since the Boer war, a mother who makes due with the help of "Uncle" (the pawn broker) and her enterprising children. When the story begins, the children are quite young, the oldest being 14 or 15, but over the course of the book, about five years elapse and everyone is forced to grow up.

The first serious thing (well, aside from getting head lice) that the family experiences, is a murder in the neighborhood, and their good friend and neighbor is being tried. There is a court trial with several characters being cross examined.

Around the same time, war is declared and we experience the reality of life on the front as well as its aftermath.

Between that there is love, courtship, marriage, political intrigue, and plenty of tea and cockney humor.

I always love Mary Jane Staples books (aka Robert Tyler Stevens), he manages to combine just the right amount of serious subject matter with humor and action to keep me engrossed page after page and leaving me with a warm fuzzy feeling. I don't understand why his books never really "made it" in the US but I'm happy they can still be found through online sites.

CONTENT:
SEX: Fade to black, mentioned frankly but not explicitly [ for example, one character is taught the "mysteries " by a female ambulance driver on the front. There is also frequent mention of underclothing and particularly breasts being either firm, pouty, perky, overflowing, soft as pillows, nipples showing through, as well as one touch and some cheeky innuendo ]
VIOLENCE: War time violence, nothing gory but people are injured. A woman is murdered.
PROFANITY: Some, mostly British in nature
MY RATING: Strong PG

Paradise Place by Warwick Deeping

After spending some years in prison for manslaughter, John Hallifax disappears. The next news of him is a letter received by his wife, postmarked from Paris, telling of John's death from consumption.

Rachel remarries for so-called stability, this time to a wealthy philisoper, a "secretary bird with trousers"; a passionless man in love with only himself and the applauds of society. 

Meanwhile, a rough, Esau-like man calling himself John Bamfield has taken lodgings in a slum area of London named "Paradise Place" and has tacked up his shingle as an herbalist. He's a hairy, bearded man of the earth, ready with his fists, quick with his wits, and carrying a secret about him...

I loved this. I haven't had the pleasure of a hero like this in some time and I warmed to the "tough softie"; he's stubborn but completely unselfish and very human. Rachel also felt very real, she was sad, she was happy, she was conniving and I rooted for her. 

The ending is satisfying and no part of the story lags. Excellent.

CONTENT:
SEX: Yes, but not shown to reader
VIOLENCE: Mild, a couple fisticuff fights
PROFANITY : Mild
MY RATING : PG

Patsy by Henry De Vere Stacpoole

This is so very different from H.V. Stacpoole's "Beach of Dreams" and "The Man Who Lost Himself" that it took me several chapters to get my bearings and understand just what I held in my hands. I think I know now.

"Patsy" is an Irish comedy. And just so you know, Patsy is not a girl but a boy; a rather enterprising, cheeky, very Irish boy. The language is in the vernacular but just enough to be humorous and not so heavy as to be unreadable.

Ok so the plot...well, at its heart we have a lovelorn couple thwarted in love. The man's uncle disapproves of the match and has arranged a more "suitable" suitor for his ward; a man with money (but alas very tight), much older, no sense of humor and a glass eye. Yes, you heard right. A glass eye. And remember this book is a comedy soooo can we just say that things happen with regard to said glass eye.

And then there's Patsy who has just landed a job in the big house as a sort of "fetch and carry" boy. As was mentioned he's a bit of a Cheeky Charlie with extras. In this case, the extras involve a bandit uncle who is the terror of the countryside along with his accomplice. The baddies have got wind that there's people of "quality" staying at the great house and they smell money. A break-in is arranged...and a trap is set. The results are zany and unpredictable. 

I think this could be a 5 star book depending on the audience. I went into it having no idea what it was about and it was entertaining but not one I'd probably reread. However if I had read it when I was a young adult, I would have loved it to pieces. Give it a go, its free on public domain sites like Openlibrary.org.

CONTENT: G

The Beach Of Dreams~ A Romance by Henry De Vere Stacpoole

4.5 Stars

This author is amazing. "Beach Of Dreams" is my second book by Stacpoole (the first being "The Man Who Lost Himself") and it is very, very good. Don't let the title mislead you. This isn't some kind of island holiday where romance ensues while people sun themselves and drink tequilas. Thank goodness!

Two ships collide, a steam yacht and a full sail fishing vessel. They sink, not too far from a particularly hostile group of islands with basalt cliffs, caves, bitumen pits and sea elephants. Only a few survive, a wealthy lady and two rough sailors. After some unfortunate events, the lady ends up fighting the elements on her own.

When hope seems farthest away, an illiterate, burly, red bearded fisherman is washed ashore...

And I don't dare say any more for fear of spoiling things, but it gets VERY exciting, and the author's ability to evoke a place with all its wonders and dangers is unparalleled.

Its unfortunate that Henry De Vere Stacpoole's works are so scarce. You can find a few overpriced print on demand paperbacks but only his more famous books. Thankfully, many are available on public domain sites for free download. Yay!

CONTENT: PG 
Brief violence, and a few racially derrogative comments directed at the chinese. No sexual situations.