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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823
EAN num: 9780765345745
ISBN number: 0765345749
Label: Forge Books
Manufacturer: Forge Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 416
Printing Date: January 10, 2005
Publishing house: Forge Books
Release Date: December 28, 2004
Sale Popularity Level: 401431
Studio: Forge Books
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Product Description:
Winner of the American Mystery Award for Best Novel of Romantic Suspense, and the Romantic Times BookClub Award for Best Historical Mystery
Miss Irene Adler, the beautiful American opera singer who once outwitted Sherlock Holmes, is here given an unexpected talent: she is a superb detective, as Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker can attest. Even Holmes himself must admit--albeit grudgingly--that she acquits herself competently.
But in matters of the heart she encounters difficulty. The Crown Prince of Bohemia--tall, blonde, and handsome--proves to be a cad. Will dashing barrister Godfrey Norton be able to convince Irene that not all handsome men are cut from the same broadcloth?
(07/14/2004)
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Rated by buyers 
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This book is among the genre of books with female leads who can only be strong by putting down the men around them, in this case including Sherlock Holmes homself. Irene outwits him easily (and arrogantly) at every meeting and since I bought this because I LIKE the Sherlock Holmes stories and the character of Irene Adler in A Scandal In Bohemia, I really did not care for this treatment of Holmes and Irene at all.
I researched Irene, her life and career in detail for a report a few months before reading this book, and saw an entirely different girl than this one. I dont think this portrayal meshes with the Irene seen in the Scandal in Bohemia either as she tends to the injured Holmes. Irene was a gifted singer, not a female version of Holmes (down to her sidekick Watson named Nell).
As far as I can tell the portrayal of Victorian life is accurate enough as far as it tries to be but of the life of an opera singer from New Jersey who had a brilliant if short career in Warsaw and Milan, not so much. During this time opera was undergoing a revolution of sorts, as opera Houses became much larger the voices of the singers had to fill a larger space, and many could not. To be a lead singer so young in the major opera company in Warsaw, I assume Irene had that ability.
The book is competently written with the plot moving along fluidly, if only the character's were given different names and unconnected with Sherlock Holmes. Other than Nell the other characters in the book are not fleshed out whatsoever. Irene is the star of the book by far and Nell only receives mention because she is the narrator and includes her reactions to Irene and her surroundings.
Rated by buyers -
Irene Adler is mentioned in only one Sherlock Holmes story, but in that story "A Scandal in Bohemia", she manages to get the better of the great Holmes. Ms. Douglas has started to build a series around Irene Adler with this book. She takes the whole "Scandal in Bohemia" story and puts a whole new twist on it, as well as building up a history and a past for Ms. Adler. And she does this quite well. Holmes even appears in certain sections of the book, and references are made to the Dr. Watson story throughout. The book is a long one, but it kept me turning pages well into the night. And Miss Penelope Huxley is a grand narrator. I look forward to reading more of the mysterious Ms. Adler.
Rated by buyers 
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Recently, or a few months ago, I selected a title off a Barnes and Noble shelf entitled "Good Night, Mr. Holmes". I've never read any of the short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but have always been intrigued by the detective who missed nothing, and his narrative companion.
Sherlock Holmes from a woman's perspective follows the narrative of a plain, law abiding, careful woman whose unfortunate bad luck leads to an encounter and solid friendship with Irene Adler. Much like Watson to Holmes, Penelope "Nell" Huxleigh chronicles throughout the Irene Adler series her adventures with the socially improper Irene, which add excitement and drama to her otherwise dull existence.
Carole Nelson Douglas proves to be a strong, likeable writer whose story telling and plots far surpass those of better known writers of the same genre. For those who find Holmes' view on women to be unacceptable, find comfort in the stories Douglas spins off from the timeless tales of Holmes and Watson.
Rated by buyers 
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As an avid reader of any and all things Sherlockian, I very happily picked up this book with all its great reviews; however, I was disappointed. The book was only mildly entertaining. The characters felt like paper cutouts. Irene was the shocking, emancipated woman; Godfrey was her dashing, good-natured suitor (In the back of my edition, the author explains that she cast Godfrey in the dull, decorative role usually occupied by women; thereby, creating a perfectly dull and purely decorative character herself. Congratulations?). The narrator, Nell (female Watson without a pistol), had a life-like spark about her; unfortunately, it was a dull one. I was also exasperated with the author's CONSTANT name dropping. Every five pages some character mentions having read Balzac or Dumas or Milton; it felt as though the author was nudging me and saying: "Aren't I clever to know who all these authors are? Aren't I well read? Haven't I done some cracking research?" Her historical characters are nothing short of laughable-her Oscar Wilde is a Punch cartoon brought to life, and Bram Stoker is in the story so little he might as well not be mentioned at all. Disappointingly, Holmes and Watson are also fringe characters.
To add insult to injury, the novel treads old ground in the world of Sherlockiana. I offer this short list of recommended reading to illustrate my point:
1) The West End Horror-Nicholas Meyer (a traditional pastiche featuring more historical figures than you can shake a stick at, including Wilde, Stoker, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, Bernard Shaw, etc. Part of a series of three.)
2) My Dearest Holmes - Rohase Piercy (Looking for an alternative view of the Holmes universe? Forget that old feminine twist-try a gay Watson. :) Also features Oscar Wilde.)
3) The Beekeeper's Apprentice-Laurie R. King (A Sherlockian pastiche featuring a great female narrator; the very first book in strong series. I have really enjoyed most of these books. )
4) The Final Solution-Michael Chabon (Like Good Night, Mr. Holmes, this remarkable gem of a book prominently features a parrot with an unusual vocabulary. I can't recommend this one enough. Winner of the Paris Review's 2004 Aga Khan prize for fiction)
In short, there are too many good Holmes pastiches to waste time reading this one.
Rated by buyers -
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 very 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.
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