Good Night, Mr. Holmes

I'm far from a Sherlock Holmes scholar, but I fell headlong into Laurie King's Mary Russell series, in which King posits a middle-aged Holmes doing his sleuthing with a brilliant young woman. I finished every book in King's repertoire, and am wishing that she'd hurry up with the next one, please. However, during a book signing, Laurie King discussed *other* fictional treatments of Holmes, and this one in particular: A Scandal in Bohemia, told from the viewpoint of "The Woman," Irene Adler -- the only person to (in Doyle's universe) beat Holmes at his own game. How could I resist? "Good Night, Mr. Holmes" is a marvelous standalone story, and I think it easily could be read by someone who never read the original Sherlock Holmes short story or whose memory of it is somewhat vague. (But really, you'll want to (re-)read "A Scandal in Bohemia" afterward, just for comparison; I did.) Irene Adler is a beautiful and brilliant American woman who is serious about her opera career and bound-and-determined to succeed independently -- quite a challenge for a woman in Victorian England. Her "Dr Watson" is Penelope Huxleigh, a prissy parson's daughter who chronicles Irene's (and her own) adventures, from their interactions with famous people of the era (such as Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker) to Adler's own detective sleuthing to the background tale in which we see the Holmes short story from another's eyes: Adler's relationship with the King of Bohemia. It works solo; it's also impressive in a "weave the events into the Doyle story" way. This is great rainy-afternoon, popcorn-munching fiction, and I highly recommend it even if you never got into the Sherlock Holmes canon. It is, however, somewhat different in mood from the Laurie King novels. This Irene Adler story is primarily a light adventure story, with intellectual swashbuckling and a few giggly moments. The Mary Russell novels are much... well, I don't want to say *darker*, but King is relentless about putting her heroine in painful situations and then seeing what ELSE she can do to her character. If you like one series, I think you'll like the other. They're both great, in different ways.

Carol Nelson Douglas has created a series of detective novels based on Irene Adler, a character from Arthur Conan Doyle's short story A Scandal In Bohemia. Adler is a feminist alternative to the pipe-smoking Sherlock Holmes, complete with a female sidekick, Penelope Huxleigh, who documents her exploits as Dr. Watson did for Holmes. In Good Night, Mr. Holmes, the first novel of the series, Ms. Douglas has written a prequel to A Scandal In Bohemia in which we learn how Irene and Penelope met and how they got caught up in the scandal that introduces Sherlock Holmes to their lives. The pairing of the ultra-respectable Penelope, the country parson's daughter, with Irene, the convention breaking American singer, provides for entertaining situations that liven up the investigative plot. Historic details are handled competently and many famous personages of the time make cameo appearances in the story. Overall, this is a delightful introduction to a great series of entertaining historic mystery novels.

I've read other "Holmes" fiction by Laurie R. King and was always disappointed that those books didn't have the essence of Holmes pairing him up (in marriage no less!) with a teenage girl.But this book was a breathe of fresh Sherlock Holmes air. It starts out slowly and was a bit hard to get into, but it really spins along at the end and you can't put it down! I really enjoyed the way the whole story played out. I was most fond of Miss Penelope Huxleigh and Godrey Norton...even more than Irene.

If you are a fan of Holmes and know the story of Irene Adler and the "Scandal in Bohemia", this book will whet your Sherlockian appetite for more. Douglas writes in a style quite similar to Conan Doyle and makes Adler come alive as an irresistable heroine and a formidable sleuth as well. Unlike other Conan Doyle copycats, Douglas shows respect for the canon and a true knowledge of Holmesian lore. Can't wait for the next book in the series.

I think a thousand words is not exactly enough space for me to convey my reactions to this book. I found this book quite by accident, and being a Sherlockian myself, I bought this book on a whim. Irene Adler becomes unforgettable and Douglas exhibits a sharp wit; every page sparkles with humor, innuendos and a fantastic mystery based on "A Scandal in Bohemia." I recommend this as well as the rest of the Irene Adler quartet--it's well worth it! Reading Sherlock Holmes will never quite be the same.