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Irene Adler #8
Spider Dance
Opera singer. Adventuress. American abroad. Irene Adler is all of this...and is also the only woman to ever have outwitted the great man, Sherlock Holmes.
In Carole Nelson Douglas's novel Spider Dance , Irene has finally come home after numerous adventures, not out of loyalty to her native shores but because of a baffling puzzle, and the one thing that haunts her. Irene has no real memory of her childhood and has spent most of her life creating a persona to fit her passions. When Daredevil reporter Nelly Bly lures Irene to America by hinting that she knows of Irene's parentage, Irene takes the bait and in doing so, embarks upon a pursuit of the most notorious woman of the nineteenth century.
Before the intrigue-ridden quest is over, Irene will uncover murderous international political conspiracies, lost treasure, and finally . . . the full, shocking secret of her birth.
In Carole Nelson Douglas's novel Spider Dance , Irene has finally come home after numerous adventures, not out of loyalty to her native shores but because of a baffling puzzle, and the one thing that haunts her. Irene has no real memory of her childhood and has spent most of her life creating a persona to fit her passions. When Daredevil reporter Nelly Bly lures Irene to America by hinting that she knows of Irene's parentage, Irene takes the bait and in doing so, embarks upon a pursuit of the most notorious woman of the nineteenth century.
Before the intrigue-ridden quest is over, Irene will uncover murderous international political conspiracies, lost treasure, and finally . . . the full, shocking secret of her birth.
512 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
9 people are currently reading
384 people want to read
About the author
Carole Nelson Douglas
167 books567 followersCarole Nelson Douglas is the author of sixty-four award-winning novels in contemporary and historical mystery/suspense and romance, high and urban fantasy and science fiction genres. She is best known for two popular mystery series, the Irene Adler Sherlockian historical suspense series (she was the first woman to spin-off a series from the Holmes stories) and the multi-award-winning alphabetically titled Midnight Louie contemporary mystery series. From Cat in an Alphabet Soup #1 to Cat in an Alphabet Endgame #28.
Delilah Street, PI (Paranormal Investigator), headlines Carole's noir Urban Fantasy series: Dancing With Werewolves, Brimstone Kiss, Vampire Sunrise, Silver Zombie, and Virtual Virgin. Now Delilah has moved from her paranormal Vegas to Midnight Louie, feline PI's "Slightly surreal" Vegas to solve crimes in the first book of the new Cafe Noir series, Absinthe Without Leave. Next in 2020, Brandi Alexander on the Rocks.
Once Upon a Midnight Noir is out in eBook and trade paperback versions. This author-designed and illustrated collection of three mystery stories with a paranormal twist and a touch of romance features two award-winning stories featuring Midnight Louie, feline PI and Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator in a supernatural-run Las Vegas. A third story completes the last unfinished story fragment of Edgar Allan Poe, as a Midnight Louie Past Life adventure set in 1790 Norland on a isolated island lighthouse. Louie is a soldier of fortune, a la Puss in Boots.
Next out are Midnight Louie's Cat in an Alphabet Endgame in hardcover, trade paperback and eBook Aug. 23, 2016.
All the Irene Adler novels, the first to feature a woman from the Sherlock Holmes Canon as a crime solver, are now available in eBook.
Carole was a college theater and English literature major. She was accepted for grad school in Theater at the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University, and could have worked as an editorial assistant at Vogue magazine (a la The Devil Wears Prada) but wanted a job closer to home. She worked as a newspaper reporter and then editor in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. During her time there, she discovered a long, expensive classified advertisement offering a black cat named Midnight Louey to the "right" home for one dollar and wrote a feature story on the plucky survival artist, putting it into the cat's point of view. The cat found a country home, but its name was revived for her feline PI mystery series many years later. Some of the Midnight Louie series entries include the dedication "For the real and original Midnight Louie. Nine lives were not enough." Midnight Louie has now had 32 novelistic lives and features in several short stories as well.
Hollywood and Broadway director, playwright, screenwriter and novelist Garson Kanin took Carole's first novel to his publisher on the basis of an interview/article she'd done with him five years earlier. "My friend Phil Silvers," he wrote, "would say he'd never won an interview yet, but he had never had the luck of you."
Carole is a "literary chameleon" who's had novels published in many genres, and often mixes such genre elements as mystery and suspense, fantasy and science fiction, romance with mainstream issues, especially the roles of women.
Delilah Street, PI (Paranormal Investigator), headlines Carole's noir Urban Fantasy series: Dancing With Werewolves, Brimstone Kiss, Vampire Sunrise, Silver Zombie, and Virtual Virgin. Now Delilah has moved from her paranormal Vegas to Midnight Louie, feline PI's "Slightly surreal" Vegas to solve crimes in the first book of the new Cafe Noir series, Absinthe Without Leave. Next in 2020, Brandi Alexander on the Rocks.
Once Upon a Midnight Noir is out in eBook and trade paperback versions. This author-designed and illustrated collection of three mystery stories with a paranormal twist and a touch of romance features two award-winning stories featuring Midnight Louie, feline PI and Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator in a supernatural-run Las Vegas. A third story completes the last unfinished story fragment of Edgar Allan Poe, as a Midnight Louie Past Life adventure set in 1790 Norland on a isolated island lighthouse. Louie is a soldier of fortune, a la Puss in Boots.
Next out are Midnight Louie's Cat in an Alphabet Endgame in hardcover, trade paperback and eBook Aug. 23, 2016.
All the Irene Adler novels, the first to feature a woman from the Sherlock Holmes Canon as a crime solver, are now available in eBook.
Carole was a college theater and English literature major. She was accepted for grad school in Theater at the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University, and could have worked as an editorial assistant at Vogue magazine (a la The Devil Wears Prada) but wanted a job closer to home. She worked as a newspaper reporter and then editor in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. During her time there, she discovered a long, expensive classified advertisement offering a black cat named Midnight Louey to the "right" home for one dollar and wrote a feature story on the plucky survival artist, putting it into the cat's point of view. The cat found a country home, but its name was revived for her feline PI mystery series many years later. Some of the Midnight Louie series entries include the dedication "For the real and original Midnight Louie. Nine lives were not enough." Midnight Louie has now had 32 novelistic lives and features in several short stories as well.
Hollywood and Broadway director, playwright, screenwriter and novelist Garson Kanin took Carole's first novel to his publisher on the basis of an interview/article she'd done with him five years earlier. "My friend Phil Silvers," he wrote, "would say he'd never won an interview yet, but he had never had the luck of you."
Carole is a "literary chameleon" who's had novels published in many genres, and often mixes such genre elements as mystery and suspense, fantasy and science fiction, romance with mainstream issues, especially the roles of women.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 21, 2023
Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler — working against each other or with each other?
Irene Adler and her companion, Nel Huxleigh, are visiting America, searching for her parentage. She has spent her life never having memories of her childhood or family. Nelly Bly, the American newswoman, had contacted Irene claiming she knew of Irene’s parentage.
Sherlock Holmes is visiting America and has been enlisted by William K. Vanderbilt to solve the mystery of the murdered man found on Vanderbilt’s billiard table. It’s to be done without police or publicity.
A lead that Irene and Nel are tracking is regarding Lola Montez and the Lady In Black. Are they one and the same? Both figures have racy pasts and royal connections and both with references that applied to Irene’s mother.
The trails Adler and Holmes are tracking cross with possible connections. The two are wary of each other due to previous dealings. Yet both recognize the abilities they share that could benefit their cases. There is also a possibility of attraction to each other.
Set in 1889 New York, it is a good visit to another time with some interesting characters and plots.
Irene Adler and her companion, Nel Huxleigh, are visiting America, searching for her parentage. She has spent her life never having memories of her childhood or family. Nelly Bly, the American newswoman, had contacted Irene claiming she knew of Irene’s parentage.
Sherlock Holmes is visiting America and has been enlisted by William K. Vanderbilt to solve the mystery of the murdered man found on Vanderbilt’s billiard table. It’s to be done without police or publicity.
A lead that Irene and Nel are tracking is regarding Lola Montez and the Lady In Black. Are they one and the same? Both figures have racy pasts and royal connections and both with references that applied to Irene’s mother.
The trails Adler and Holmes are tracking cross with possible connections. The two are wary of each other due to previous dealings. Yet both recognize the abilities they share that could benefit their cases. There is also a possibility of attraction to each other.
Set in 1889 New York, it is a good visit to another time with some interesting characters and plots.
August 11, 2019
I had really enjoyed the other Irene Adler books in this series, but this one fell flat for me and I did not finish it.
It's possible that I just waited too long to read this book after the others. I may have just lost the thread and allowed my interest in this story to wane.
I found the multiple narrators in this book to be distracting. The way the different narrators told their stories and how - to me - randomly the narrator changed from chapter to chapter felt disjointed to me and made it hard for me to follow the narrative, even though all the characters - Sherlock Holmes, Nellie Bly and Irene's faithful assistant - were interesting and were telling good stories. It just felt like too much work to keep track of who was where, and what they were doing, as well as how it all fit in with the overall story.
I made it to page 125, but with a 400+ page book, I just wasn't engaged to devote that much of a time commitment to a book that I wasn't really into.
It's possible that I just waited too long to read this book after the others. I may have just lost the thread and allowed my interest in this story to wane.
I found the multiple narrators in this book to be distracting. The way the different narrators told their stories and how - to me - randomly the narrator changed from chapter to chapter felt disjointed to me and made it hard for me to follow the narrative, even though all the characters - Sherlock Holmes, Nellie Bly and Irene's faithful assistant - were interesting and were telling good stories. It just felt like too much work to keep track of who was where, and what they were doing, as well as how it all fit in with the overall story.
I made it to page 125, but with a 400+ page book, I just wasn't engaged to devote that much of a time commitment to a book that I wasn't really into.
May 15, 2017
I honestly got the feeling this book had been written specifically for my enjoyment! Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler (the woman!), maneuvering in the all-American melting pot of NYC in the gilded age among an assortment of characters ranging from millionaires on Fifth Avenue to ragamuffin street urchins and baby brokers, Pinkerton detectives and a shady religious cult, secret agents and tabloid reporters, all drawn into the web of a real-life notoriously independent and willful woman, loved and reviled on four continents, who toppled kingdoms, hobnobbed with titans of industry, amassed enormous wealth as a gutsy dancer with little talent, yet died alone, sick and penniless, leaving behind the mystery of her lost fortune and her true identify. Douglas tells this historical-fiction mystery page-turner with wit, intelligence, and suck-you-in suspense that left me breathless.
April 17, 2013
Irene Adler, the central character of this series, is every inch "The Woman" Holmes deems her, and simply can't disappoint. The convoluted, difficult, montage-like plot of the last installment in Douglas' otherwise stellar series, however, is another (ahem) story. Too many quotations, too many details, too many bad guys who are too sketchily described, and while the open-ended finish is (ahem) novel for the genre, it feels too little, too late.
August 1, 2019
Irene Adler Norton, along with Nell Huxleigh, is in New York to pursue the mystery of who Irene's mother was. Clues point to Mrs. Eliza Guilbert being the infamous Lola Montez. Sherlock Holmes is also in New York, with a case from the Vanderbilts. How do the two intertwine? Can they follow thirty-year-old clues to resolve it all?
So, I have come to the end of the series, and I am immensely sad that there is to be no more. I love this interpretation of Irene Adler. I will miss her and Nell, and the mysteries they solve around Holmes. They both grew through the series.
I think my favorite part of this was them keeping Nellie Bly from knowing what they were doing. I would have been happier if that annoying character had been kept from the story altogether, but seeing her suspecting she was being kept from the truth was just as much fun.
In parts, the story does drag and it definitely is not my favorite of the series. It was otherwise full of details and enjoyable.
A fine end to one of my favorite book series.
So, I have come to the end of the series, and I am immensely sad that there is to be no more. I love this interpretation of Irene Adler. I will miss her and Nell, and the mysteries they solve around Holmes. They both grew through the series.
I think my favorite part of this was them keeping Nellie Bly from knowing what they were doing. I would have been happier if that annoying character had been kept from the story altogether, but seeing her suspecting she was being kept from the truth was just as much fun.
In parts, the story does drag and it definitely is not my favorite of the series. It was otherwise full of details and enjoyable.
A fine end to one of my favorite book series.
May 10, 2021
Best so far.
What can I say about this complex and thought-provoking story? There is no way to summarize its densely woven and intersecting storylines, nor the wonderfully well-constructed cast of memorable characters. This book will be on my mind and imagination for a long enjoyment.
What can I say about this complex and thought-provoking story? There is no way to summarize its densely woven and intersecting storylines, nor the wonderfully well-constructed cast of memorable characters. This book will be on my mind and imagination for a long enjoyment.
November 20, 2021
Picked this up in a used book bin. Was more than pleasantly surprise. I love historical fiction & with the air of adventure/mystery oh so enjoyable. Turn of the century NYC with known historical individuals is just cool. Haven't read Carol before, but should have. Planning on others in the series...
February 19, 2017
Good book. Good writing. Just felt like it dragged in various spots.
March 25, 2018
One of the best in this wonderful series
May 11, 2018
Not my kind of book. 3 stories dragged on and on in parallel. Too many details, historical facts. Not a page turner, had to skim through every chapter and somehow finish it.
June 30, 2013
A very interesting book by an interesting author.
Reading the previous works involving Irene Adler is not necessary to understand this one but would be recommended because it makes references to them often.
The introduction was strong and the body was enticing; However, the ending was unsatisfactory. I felt it was rushed and a lot more detail could have been included into the explanations of how the cases crossed and where some characters fit into the story. Most minor characters were easily forgettable, thus making it difficult to pinpoint them as, "useful" later on in the story. My largest critique is that I was deeply perturbed and aggravated to be told that
The mentioning of Dr. Watson was extremely enjoyable, one of my favourites being, "Watsons, God Bless them, are everywhere."
Being an avid reader and one who takes a fancy to British television shows, it can be assumed I have seen BBC's "Sherlock" and "Doctor Who" (as well as many others, like "Merlin") and that I am pleased when I can make connections between literature and television. Particularly, when there is a "crossover", such as when
The quote I most adore, however, came from one very own Ms. Huxliegh. "How odd that the man of intellect chose dreams as an escape, and the woman of emotion and theatrical fantasies sought the unpredictable dangers of crime-solving for challenge."
This quote was striking to me in a way that made me rethink some aspects of both characters [Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler].
A tale full of twists and turns, "Spider Dance" had me turning the pages in hopes of discovering more about this mysterious "Spanish" linage of Irene's and to see how Douglas portrayed these most beloved characters. 3 stars and a 7/10.
Reading the previous works involving Irene Adler is not necessary to understand this one but would be recommended because it makes references to them often.
The introduction was strong and the body was enticing; However, the ending was unsatisfactory. I felt it was rushed and a lot more detail could have been included into the explanations of how the cases crossed and where some characters fit into the story. Most minor characters were easily forgettable, thus making it difficult to pinpoint them as, "useful" later on in the story. My largest critique is that I was deeply perturbed and aggravated to be told that
The mentioning of Dr. Watson was extremely enjoyable, one of my favourites being, "Watsons, God Bless them, are everywhere."
Being an avid reader and one who takes a fancy to British television shows, it can be assumed I have seen BBC's "Sherlock" and "Doctor Who" (as well as many others, like "Merlin") and that I am pleased when I can make connections between literature and television. Particularly, when there is a "crossover", such as when
The quote I most adore, however, came from one very own Ms. Huxliegh. "How odd that the man of intellect chose dreams as an escape, and the woman of emotion and theatrical fantasies sought the unpredictable dangers of crime-solving for challenge."
This quote was striking to me in a way that made me rethink some aspects of both characters [Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler].
A tale full of twists and turns, "Spider Dance" had me turning the pages in hopes of discovering more about this mysterious "Spanish" linage of Irene's and to see how Douglas portrayed these most beloved characters. 3 stars and a 7/10.
March 25, 2016
This is the eighth continuation of the Irene Adler/Nell Huxleigh/Sherlock Holmes saga and is three mysteries with one solution. Irene has brought Nell with her to New York to search for her birth mother, a woman she never knew. She and Nell have been lured to the city by Nellie Bly, the reporter, who has secrets of her own. All clues point to Irene's mother being a woman who went by the name of Lola Montez. Lola was a woman of mystery who lead a scandalous life, almost on par with Irene herself. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes, is also in New York and has been hired by the Vanderbilt family to find out and solve the mystery of who and why a man was murdered on William Vanderbilt's billiard table. Nellie Bly is on the search for a story that will sooth her wounded pride as she has discovered the identity of Jack the Ripper but is being silenced by the British government. Sherlock, Irene, Nell, Quinton (a British agent Nell is in love with) and Godfrey (Irene's husband) join forces and eventually all these stories link together into one and it is a very good read. I find Nell Huxleigh draining though. She spends most of her time in the story complaining or whining about something. It's time to marry her off or have the murdered or something.
December 3, 2011
The last addition to the series, I am sad to say, since I have enjoyed being in the close company of The Woman, through the eyes of Nell.
Irene Adler is a magnificent character and I love everything about her, she also plays the most important role, to help Nell evolve throughout the series.
In this book we go to America with her and Nell, in search of her mother...and a lot of twist and turns ensue, which also drags along Sherlock Holmes, which is always the best part.
I also like the moments these two meet face to face, it's great fun to see them like that.
All in all, a good story, if not a bit to detailed for my liking, with the whole Lola Montez, but I understand it was vital to the story.
Irene Adler is a magnificent character and I love everything about her, she also plays the most important role, to help Nell evolve throughout the series.
In this book we go to America with her and Nell, in search of her mother...and a lot of twist and turns ensue, which also drags along Sherlock Holmes, which is always the best part.
I also like the moments these two meet face to face, it's great fun to see them like that.
All in all, a good story, if not a bit to detailed for my liking, with the whole Lola Montez, but I understand it was vital to the story.
March 26, 2009
This is the latest book in the Irene Adler series - perhaps the last since it was published in 2004. I found myself being a bit impatient with the story - there were too many details that just didn't seen logical, small things that bothered me. The series has also started to seem a bit stale. Nell is the only character who really changes over time.
Carole Nelson Douglas has a series set in Las Vegas - Midnight Louie. This somehow includes a cat as a main character, which does not appeal to me. But who knows, maybe someday I will read the first in that series.
Carole Nelson Douglas has a series set in Las Vegas - Midnight Louie. This somehow includes a cat as a main character, which does not appeal to me. But who knows, maybe someday I will read the first in that series.
December 27, 2015
OK, these are ridiculously fun. I think this is the last one in the series though (sadface).
So this time, Irene and pal Nell, husband/barrister Godfrey, British secret agent Quentin, and of course the Great Man himself (once again sans Watson - he never gets in on the fun) are scrambling about New York in pursuit of Vanderbuilts and the ghost of Lola Montez. Gory murders, dark secrets from the past, and questions of parentage abound. Good times.
So this time, Irene and pal Nell, husband/barrister Godfrey, British secret agent Quentin, and of course the Great Man himself (once again sans Watson - he never gets in on the fun) are scrambling about New York in pursuit of Vanderbuilts and the ghost of Lola Montez. Gory murders, dark secrets from the past, and questions of parentage abound. Good times.
January 31, 2014
I liked this one a lot more than the previous two in the series, and apparently much of what was written about Lola Montez in this tale was actually based on fact. While the motive for the crimes was a bit weak, IMO, the tale was actually believable and much more of an actual mystery-to-be-solved (even if we didn't completely resolve the issue of Irene's parentage).
November 24, 2015
I enjoyed the characters, and their world and hope I get the chance to read the story again and/or to read more within the series.
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
February 2, 2014
We see here a female version of Sherlock Holmes, one, it's thrilling, two, it's awesome and three, I highly recommend it. It's action packed, thrilling and mind boggling for readers who love to analyze their reads.
unread-favauthors
September 11, 20078th in series.
January 10, 2009
stamped
May 11, 2014
went on and on. ended up skipping part. Three stories going on- dead body, search for Irene's mom, Neliie Bly and baby selling.
Read
May 31, 2015Meh
April 28, 2016
i don't want to have to stop and wait for more. but at least it's not a cliff hanger.
September 20, 2016
Longass slow book. Could have done with being 200 pages shorter. 3 stars.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews