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    Good Night, Mr. Holmes (with bonus A.C. Doyle short story A Scandal in Bohemia):
    Unavailable
    Good Night, Mr. Holmes (with bonus A.C. Doyle short story A Scandal in Bohemia):
    Unavailable
    Good Night, Mr. Holmes (with bonus A.C. Doyle short story A Scandal in Bohemia):
    Ebook503 pages7 hours

    Good Night, Mr. Holmes (with bonus A.C. Doyle short story A Scandal in Bohemia):

    By Carole Nelson Douglas

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR

    Winner of the American Mystery Award for Best Novel of Romantic suspense and RT Book Reviews Award for Best Historical Mystery.

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s included short story, “A Scandal in Bohemia,” introduced both Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler: “She has a soul of steel. . . the face of the most beautiful of women and the mind of the most resolute of men.”

    American aspiring opera singer Irene Adler rescues orphaned parson’s daughter Penelope Huxleigh from a London cutpurse, it starts a crime-solving alliance as strong as that of Holmes and Watson. Irene moonlights as a private inquiry agent while awaiting her career break, which brings her into the orbits of such luminaries as Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker and puts her on the trail on Marie Antoinette’s fabulous lost diamond belt. Her investigations also introduce her to a certain dashing barrister, Mr. Godfrey Norton. A prestigious assignment as prima donna at the Prague opera house almost makes Irene the Queen of Bohemia, but a royal murder and caddish Prince force her to flee back to London . . . where she will become the only woman to outwit Sherlock Holmes.

    "Setting herself the task of creating a heroine worthy of Sherlock Holmes, Douglas... succeeds smashingly... Douglas writes in a voice that resonates of Dr. Watson's (or Conan Doyle's) when appropriate...this lively caper establishes Adler's sleuthing skills [and] has more going for it than the usual Holmesian pastiche, presenting a truly original perspective of the one whom the great detective himself dubbed "the woman." She's a superior woman at that; readers will doff their deerstalkers."—Publishers Weekly

    "I am not exaggerating when I say this book is probably the finest Sherlockian novel published since 1915 [when Conan Doyle published the last of his four Sherlockian novels]... I am impressed with [Douglas's] storytelling ability...with her ability to reflect the minutiae of Victorian life accurately...her Sherlockian accuracy..,the life she breathes into the tough and clever Irene.Rarely do I read a "pastiche", as we have come to call Sherlockian novels, and come to believe it. But I think Carole Nelson Douglas has told the exact truth about Ms. Adler, and whenever I reread 'A Scandal in Bohemia' that truth will be part of the story for me."—Chris Redmond, B.S.I., ASH, The Waterloo Sherlockian Letter

    “This rollicking story perfectly balances suspense, humor, and the Victorian atmosphere in a marvelously good read."—Joan Lowery Nixon, Houston Chronicle

    “Read any good books lately? I have. Carole Nelson Douglas has kept me up several nights with Good Night, Mr. Holmes...about THE woman, Irene Adler. It kept me spellbound, so much so that I want to read its sequel. Douglas... apparently has many fans. That figures. She is an excellent writer."—Lincoln Journal-Star

    "The detective in the deerstalker found few adversaries worthy of him: Moriarty, of course, and the brilliant and lovely diva Irene Adler...But was Adler the morally questionable "adventuress" Dr. Watson perceived? Not if we are to believe this delightfully flip mystery... Sherlock Holmes does [appear], but this is Irene Adler's turn in the limelight, and she proves her power both to deduce and entertain."—Toronto Globe and Mail

    "an absolutely delicious foray into the world of Sherlock Holmes... This serendipitous tour de force is bound to please fans of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody, and anyone who appreciates quick wit, intelligent plotting and a clever turn of phrase. Don't miss this truly delightful book."—Melinda Helfer, RT Book Reviews

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCarole Nelson Douglas
    Release dateJan 11, 2013
    ISBN9781301233151
    Unavailable
    Good Night, Mr. Holmes (with bonus A.C. Doyle short story A Scandal in Bohemia):
    Author

    Carole Nelson Douglas

    Carole Nelson Douglas, author of more than fifty fantasy and science fiction, mystery, mainstream, and romance novels, was an award-winning reporter and editor for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. After writing some bestselling high fantasy novels and SF thrillers, she imported fantasy notions into her Midnight Louie mystery series, which features a hard-boiled Las Vegas PI who’s a feline “Sam Spade with hairballs.” Her Irene Adler historical series made Carole the first author to use a woman from the Sherlock Holmes stories as a protagonist in the 1991 New York Times Notable Book of the Year, Good Night, Mr. Holmes. She’s won or been short-listed for more than fifty writing awards in nonfiction, sf/fantasy, mystery, and romance genres, including several from the Romance Writers of America and Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine, and the Cat Writers’ Association. In 2008, RT BOOKreviews magazine named Carole a “pioneer of the publishing industry. Carole and husband Sam Douglas, a former art museum exhibitions director and kaleidoscope designer, are kept as pets by five stray cats and a dog in Fort Worth, Texas. She collects vintage clothing, and does a mean Marilyn Monroe impersonation, and, yes, she does dance, but not with werewolves. As far as she knows.

    Read more from Carole Nelson Douglas

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    Reviews for Good Night, Mr. Holmes (with bonus A.C. Doyle short story A Scandal in Bohemia):

    3.5/5

    7 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is an approach to the Sherlock Holmes story "A Scandal in Bohemia" from the side of Irene Adler. It is an amusing story and supplements the Holmesian canon well. It includes a devoted companion, a foul-mouthed parrot, and an additional mystery. All nicely told.
    • 4/5
      Irene Adler was the one woman who ever duped Holmes. Douglas links Adler's adventures with information about her in Doyle's "A Scandal in Bohemia." This lively story establishes Adler's sleuthing skills as she solves cases that involve Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker, among others. The novel presents an original perspective of the one whom Holmes himself dubbed "the woman." She's a superior woman and this book is thoroughly enjoyable.
    • 3/5
      I finished it. There were parts I liked. I did lose interest about half way and put it down for a week. Maybe the later books get better-- I'd be willing to try.
    • 4/5
      I love Sherlock Holmes stories and so I was very eager to read this book about Irene Adler, the only woman to ever outwit the great detective in The Scandal in Bohemia. Good Night, Mr. Holmes tells Irene's side of the story from the perspective of her good friend and roommate Penelope Huxleigh. After a somewhat slow and rambling beginning, I found the story to be a light, entertaining, and humorous read, with good historical detail of the Victorian era. I'll be adding the next book in the series to the TBR pile.
    • 2/5
      Let me start by admitting that I enjoy Sherlock Holmes, but I am not a Holmesian. I think the actual canon is pretty good, occasionally great, and that Doyle showed rather too plainly his growing dissatisfaction with the series. What Doyle DID do right was create an unforgettable character, an icon, one that writers today would KILL for. Holmes is a character that has survived numerous movie and TV shows, including a cartoon, and inspired literally hundreds of writers to try their hand at a new spin on the old stories. (One of my favorites from last year was Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space for the amazing creativity it contained.)I loved the IDEA for this book. Take The Woman, Irene Adler from "A Scandal in Bohemia," the one female Holmes seemed to consider a worthy adversary, and tell her story. The trouble is that the story the writer tells is just not up to the idea. Irene is unconventional, brave, intelligent, and resourceful. So why is she wasted in this romantic meandering that only occasionally involves any real mystery and treats Holmes as a bit player? The idea seemed to be to present Irene as a female counterpart to Holmes. To that end, she has a mysterious past, like his, that same ability to 'deduce' from the clues at hand, an urge to solve mysteries, and a stuffy, conventional sidekick. (I may be doing Watson a disservice here. Penelope Huxleigh is amazingly insipid and uninteresting. At least Watson had something of a life.)I kept at it, waiting for the fatal meeting between the two, but wound up embroiled in Bohemia, where Irene is protecting her virtue by declining an offer to be the new king's mistress. Come on. Not buying it. So I gave up and never got to see what happened when Adler and Holmes finally met.What really bugs me is that this series means that someone else can't use the same great idea - the story of Irene Adler - and turn it into something really WORTH reading. Don't bother.
    • 4/5
      The legendary Irene Adler is said to be the only female to get the best of Sherlock Holmes (a point which may be debatable if you've read the Mary Russell novels by Laurie King.) That said, "Good Night Mr. Holmes" is the introduction to a series of novels featuring Irene and her European escapades told by Nell Huxleigh, a well-bred but penniless parson's daughter who was literally whisked off the street and befriended by Irene. Nell is alternately captivated and scandalized by Irene's antics and a great narrator for the story.A great companion read for any Holmes fan. I'm looking forward to tackling the whole series.
    • 4/5
      This was very good and is continued in Good Morning Irene. I had to reread A Scandal in Bohemia to remember the Holmes’ version of the story. In this one, the King has led Irene to believe that he will make her queen, when his only intention is to make her a kept mistress. She runs away in secret as the King’s henchmen chase her down. While in Bohemia, Nell stays behind in the employ of Godfrey Norton the barrister whom Irene eventually marries. They are first brought together when she investigates the missing zone of diamonds, last seen in the possession of Godfrey’s disreputable and mad father. She finds obscure clues and at last finds the zone and because Godfrey has risen in her esteem, gives it to him. Because he is some kind of saint, he splits the take 3 ways between himself, Irene and Nell. Irene marries him because he is a stout believer and advocate of women’s independence. His mother had to leave his father when he was very young because he was a bully and a jerk to her. She writes several successful novels and the husband sues her for the proceeds and of course he wins. Godfrey thinks this is outrageous and has become a barrister partly to change the way women are viewed by the law. Irene is the woman alright.