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Former Pinkerton agent and American diva, Irene Adler, and her friend and biographer, Nell Huxleigh, are relaxing in Neuilly, France from their harrowing experiences with Jack the Ripper when Irene receives a telegram from American journalist, Elizabeth Jane Cochrone aka Nellie Bly, that someone is trying to kill Irene's mother. Irene claims to have no mother; she has always kept her past a mystery,and is unwilling to probe her past. Her husband,barrister Godfrey Norton, insists that she and Nell go to America to investigate the situation. Once in America Irene searches for clues to her barely remembered childhood. While she is pursuing her past, there are a series of murders. It seems that someone is rapidly eliminating everyone who has knowledge of her past. Since Irene seems reluctant to include Nellie Bly in her investigations, Nellie brings Sherlock Holmes from England to help her solve these murders. Irene is the only woman who ever outwitted Holmes. They have an ambivalent relationship: sometimes adversaries, sometimes allies. Together they now must search the past to find links to the serial killer. Their endeavors take them through New York in the 1880s. There is a wealth of historical detail of New York at that time. The sights and sounds and even the smells are vividly portrayed. There are visits to Delmonico's,Coney Island, the vaudeville stage, to name a few. The reader has a sense of being there.The plot is well-constructed with loads of action which keeps you guessing to the end. The characters are real people with depth and dimension. The women are portrayed as women in a man's world; ahead of their time and able to hold their own. There is an array of fictional and well known characters: Brad Stoke, Baron Rothchild, Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, and,of course,Sherlock Holmes. The style of writing is evocative of the period with its ornate language. This is a fine novel with a sense of loyalty, intelligence and love woven into an exciting mystery.
Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer, November 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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