Helpful Score: 3
Recommended by another PBS member, this was a very pleasant surprise. We follow Holmes' Scandal in Bohemia from Irene Adler's point of view (by way of her own 'Watson', Miss Buxleigh) and while the author does incorporate Holmes, but only very slightly as the framework required it, the story is not in the least dependent on his character. Instead, we are given a fully fleshed out version based on the already known story. It was slow to start off but then that may be a result of the quicker paced items I'd been reading just before rather than a fault of the writer. All in all it was a very satisfying read, very much an 'Irene Adler' story rather than a 'Holmes', and I have already requested the next 2 in the series.
R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed Good Night, Mr. Holmes (Irene Adler, Bk 1) on + 1452 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Irene Adler is a character all her own who can and does match wits with the famous Sherlock Holmes. Her cohort is Penelope Huxleigh, who narrates the story and serves as Irene's companion (Watson). Just to eliminate confusion in this discussion Irene calls her Nell throughout the tale.
This is an entertaining read placed in 1890s London, and is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's 'A Scandal in Bohemia' where readers of Doyle's works discover Irene Addler. Irene's passion is opera and her career seems to be taking off. She combines her singing with investigation, her second love. She and Penelope pool their talents to search for The Zone of Diamonds, a diamond belt from the french crown jewels which was lost after the Revolution. Irene and Holmes believe that the belt is hidden somewhere in London.
I like the fact that Holmes appears now and then to remind Irene just what she must be about. Even though it was a bit long, I liked this one and look forward to checking out the next Irene Adler novel. The reviews I read were mixed but I found it fun. Yes, this novel is basically a pastiche, a work that imitates the style or character of another. One should remember that basically, a pastiche celebrates the work it imitates.
This is an entertaining read placed in 1890s London, and is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's 'A Scandal in Bohemia' where readers of Doyle's works discover Irene Addler. Irene's passion is opera and her career seems to be taking off. She combines her singing with investigation, her second love. She and Penelope pool their talents to search for The Zone of Diamonds, a diamond belt from the french crown jewels which was lost after the Revolution. Irene and Holmes believe that the belt is hidden somewhere in London.
I like the fact that Holmes appears now and then to remind Irene just what she must be about. Even though it was a bit long, I liked this one and look forward to checking out the next Irene Adler novel. The reviews I read were mixed but I found it fun. Yes, this novel is basically a pastiche, a work that imitates the style or character of another. One should remember that basically, a pastiche celebrates the work it imitates.
Helpful Score: 2
A nice English type mystery
Helpful Score: 2
A fantastic story starring the only woman ever able to defeat the legendary Sherlock Holmes.
Helpful Score: 1
The Crown Prince of Bohemia and Sherlock Holmes make life interesting for Irene.
She actually out-sleuthed Sherlock? And she does it while having a love life!
Pamela L. (grandpam) -
I did not expect to like this book at all and I am very plesantly surprised. I really did like it and will continue with the series. Irene was portrayed as a much more independent woman who did not sacrific herself as A. C. Doyle presented her. I cannot imagine that Sherlock would so greatly admire a woman, and she was the only woman he ever tolerated let alone admire, if she were of easy virture. Enjoy the book....
The adventures of Irene Adler (introduced in Conan Doyle's A Scandal in Bohemia) as chronicled by her faithful sidekick, orphaned parson's daughter Penelope Huxleigh. In the words of Mehitabel the cat, Irene is "adventurous, but never an adventuress."
If you like Sherlock Holmes, you will probably also enjoy this novel. The only woman who outwitted Holmes, Irene Adler makes a great protagonist in her own right. This book is the first in a series.
Katherine G. (superscrounger) reviewed Good Night, Mr. Holmes (Irene Adler, Bk 1) on + 18 more book reviews
First in an enjoyable series!
