Irene Adler books 1-4
by Carole Nelson Douglas
1. Good Night, Mr. Holmes
2. Good Morning, Irene / The Adventuress
3. Irene At Large
4. Irene's Last Waltz / Another Scandal in Bohemia
1.
Good Night, Mr. Holmes
This first book starts in the spring of 1881. Penelope Huxleigh, Nell, a parsons daughter, is a proper English woman who is treated wrong and loses her job. Irene, an American in London, who is also poor at the moment, befriends her and takes her in until she can get a job. Irene and Nell mesh into Arthur Conan Doyle's story, A Study In Scarlet when they befriend Jefferson Stanhope. Charles Lewis Tiffany hires Irene (and Sherlock) to find the Zone of Diamonds. Irene goes to Bohemia where she stars in one of Dvorak's operas. She thinks she will marry the King, but discovers the King only wants to keep her, not marry her. The king's father is murdered, poisoned, and Irene solves that mystery, then escapes back to England. The King of Bohemia was a picture back and hires Holmes to get it for him. Here the story meshes with Doyle's A Scandal in Bohemia. Back in London, she finds the Zone of Diamonds, marries Godfrey Norton, and escapes Holmes. They are given a black cat named Lucifer and a green parrot named Casanova, and end up living in France outside of Paris.
2. Good
Morning, Irene
reprinted as: The Adventuress
In the summer of 1888, Irene and Nell discover a dead man being pulled from the Seine River, similar to a corpse in London in 1882. There is an "S" tattoo on his chest and he's missing a middle finger. The man in 1882 had an "O" tattoo on his chest. They rescue a girl from drowning who has an "E" tattoo. Clues lead them to Monte Carlo. Irene sword fights the Viscount. Another man, Singh, is murdered and an "N" is discovered on his chest. Irene figures out what the letters mean, there is treasure. The murderer is discovered. Nell ends up with the Singh's little green snake. This story does not mesh with any of Doyle's as far as I know.
3. Irene At
Large
In 1889, while visiting Paris, a ruffian recognizes Nell and then collapses. Irene takes him home to help him and it turns out to be Emerson Quentin Stanhope. Quentin (Stanhope) recovers and disappears. While looking for him, Irene shoots a snake and discovers a dead man in Montmartre, he turns out to be Indian, dead of venom but not bitten by a snake. Nell and Godfrey go to Dr. Watson, who is out, and while waiting for him, discover a dead cobra under his desk. There are Russian spies involved, and Colonel Sebastian Moran is behind it. The story ends with Moran and Quentin fighting and falling into the Thames river at Hammersmith bridge. No bodies found.
4.
Irene's Last Waltz
reprinted as: Another Scandal in Bohemia
Irene gets a package with a Liberty silk gown in it from Charles Frederick Worth. She goes to Worth's shop and makes a scene when some women there are snobbish. By doing so, she gains the respect of Worth and the confidence of Queen Clotilde. A bead girl is murdered at Worth's, and Baron Alphonse Rothschild hires the three of them to go to Bohemia. There are some sightings of a strange creature called the Golem. Irene figures out why the girl was murdered, when the Queen was being ignored by the King, and what the golem is. More Russian spies. Some romance. Lots of adventure.