Good Night, Mr. Holmes

Rating:
Summary: Highly polished writing
Review: Ms. Douglas is a talented and practiced writer. This book and the others of this series show how well she has honed her craft.

This is a deeper look at Irene Adler who was a character in Doyle's, "A Scandal in Bohemia". She was one of the few people and the only woman to outwit Sherlock Holmes. The book retells the story from Adler's viewpoint and goes on to solve some other puzzles. Irene Adler, as she appears in the Douglas books, is truly an amazing woman. One would be hard pressed not to have admiration for her and her enormous abilities. She is shown as a virtuous, honest, married woman in this book instead of the "fallen woman" she is portrayed to be in the Doyle book.
All the narrative is done from the supposed diary of Penelope Huxley (Adler's Doctor Watson). Ms. Huxley is a dedicated spinster who apparently is meant to be the conscience of Victorian London. Some of her straight laced, over done morals are a bit trying but she is probably representative of the outlook of "proper" Victorian England. Penelope is a whiz at taking notes, much as Archie Goodwin is a supposed human tape recorder (Nero Wolfe series). It's very convenient to have someone on hand to do nothing but observe and record, thereby giving more credence to the story. There is much name dropping in this and all the other books of the series. Famous characters appear here and there for no apparent reason except to give added spice to the book. I think anyone who likes the Holmes series or who likes to boost the status of women in general will enjoy this book and the ones following it.

Rating:
Summary: Highly polished writing
Review: Ms. Douglas is a talented and practiced writer. This book and the others of this series show how well she has honed her craft.

This is a deeper look at Irene Adler who was a character in Doyle's, "A Scandal in Bohemia". She was one of the few people and the only woman to outwit Sherlock Holmes. The book retells the story from Adler's viewpoint and goes on to solve some other puzzles. Irene Adler, as she appears in the Douglas books, is truly an amazing woman. One would be hard pressed not to have admiration for her and her enormous abilities. She is shown as a virtuous, honest, married woman in this book instead of the "fallen woman" she is portrayed to be in the Doyle book.
All the narrative is done from the supposed diary of Penelope Huxley (Adler's Doctor Watson). Ms. Huxley is a dedicated spinster who apparently is meant to be the conscience of Victorian London. Some of her straight laced, over done morals are a bit trying but she is probably representative of the outlook of "proper" Victorian England. Penelope is a whiz at taking notes, much as Archie Goodwin is a supposed human tape recorder (Nero Wolfe series). It's very convenient to have someone on hand to do nothing but observe and record, thereby giving more credence to the story. There is much name dropping in this and all the other books of the series. Famous characters appear here and there for no apparent reason except to give added spice to the book. I think anyone who likes the Holmes series or who likes to boost the status of women in general will enjoy this book and the ones following it.

Rating:
Summary: Tougher read for those of us who don't know Holmes well
Review: The three existing reviews for this book are all big raves - and all written by people who really know their Holmes. So if you're someone who knows your Holmes, you can ignore the rest of this review.

If your knowledge of Holmes is so-so (like me), you may find this book to be a mixed bag. I found Irene and Penelope to be very interesting. Unfortunately, the book covers several years and is pretty scattered. (Of course, the fact that I've been reading this in the midst of the World Trade Center/Pentagon tragedy may speak to my mind being just as scattered.) Still, I felt that there were whole chunks of the book that just went over my head. Maybe Holmes fans will understand.

Rating:
Summary: Tougher read for those of us who don't know Holmes well
Review: The three existing reviews for this book are all big raves - and all written by people who really know their Holmes. So if you're someone who knows your Holmes, you can ignore the rest of this review.

If your knowledge of Holmes is so-so (like me), you may find this book to be a mixed bag. I found Irene and Penelope to be very interesting. Unfortunately, the book covers several years and is pretty scattered. (Of course, the fact that I've been reading this in the midst of the World Trade Center/Pentagon tragedy may speak to my mind being just as scattered.) Still, I felt that there were whole chunks of the book that just went over my head. Maybe Holmes fans will understand.

Rating:
Summary: The WOMAN finally has her say...
Review: This was the third Irene Adler book I've read since I started with Chapel Noir and Castle Rouge since I'm an avid student of the Jack-the-Ripper mysteries. Wonderful points, fine suspects, but bottom line, dudes, he got away with it. Still I like to think of the antagonist of Castle Rouge as The Ripper. His very photograph chills one to the bone!

Now, on to this book. It answers all the questions that Doyle (Watson) could not or would not address in the all too brief "A Scandel In Bohemia"

#1 How Irene and the Crown Prince, latter King met

#2 How Irene felt he wronged her (no surprise there, considering the Royal House of England at the moment!)

#3 How Irene got AWAY with the imcriminating photograph

#4 How Irene met and fell in love with Godfrey Norton

#5 Why Holmes would take such a sorid case for such an odious client

#6 Irene's death, reports of which are greatly exaggerated.

Good show, Carole Douglas! Quoth the Raven...

Rating:
Summary: A great start to a refreshing series
Review: Whoever thought that Irene Adler, subject of only one Holmesian short story, would cause such a stir among fans? Now Carole Nelson Douglas at last brings to life a character that had only been mentioned save for her one famous line in "A Scandal in Bohemia": "Good night, Mr Holmes." From the inspiration of _the_ woman comes this fantastic first in a series that gets better and better. Not only are the books exciting, but they're refreshingly _funny_, filled with subtle wit and humor. Appearances by famed historical personages (Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, and later on the Divine Sarah Bernhardt) and famed fictional personages, Holmes and Watson themselves, make this series both realistic and amusing to read.

The characters in the Irene Adler series are complex: after reading the first three books, I still can't figure out whether or not I love or hate the character of Irene herself. Irene is the ultimate diva-detective, solving mysteries for the sake of curing her own boredom, and approaches everything with an impish enthusiasm. Impossibly radiant and beautiful, she eclipses the series' true heroine, the "Watson" to Irene, Penelope Huxleigh: a plain and proper parson's daughter who gets mixed up in Irene's life by mistake, in a very similar way that Watson met Holmes. Nell is the most intriguing character in the series, and easiest to identify with, even if she comes off as a prude at times. Anyone who has felt a "third wheel," or has been left in the shadows because of a more attractive friend, will relate to Nell. Barrister Godfrey Norton makes up the third of this main-character trio, who is astonishingly likeable - he adds a definite spark to the series that would surely be lost without him.

_Good Night, Mr. Holmes_ and the books that follow it (two or three of which are out of print and hard to find at present) will probably best liked by women, because it very accurately (and bemusedly) presents a female version of the Victorian era - one from a "modern" woman and one more subdued and conformist, and two different feminine views (from Irene and Nell) of Sherlock Holmes himself. It's very interesting to see Holmes as a minor character and adversary - and don't worry, Holmes fans: Nelson writes Holmes and Watson well.

I strongly recommend reading "A Scandal in Bohemia" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (found in _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_) before turning to the Irene Adler series, in order to get acquainted with the characters and see the Watsonian point of view on the case portrayed in _Good Night, Mr. Holmes_.