Read Spider Dance Online

Authors: Carole Nelson Douglas

Tags: #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Mystery, #British Detectives, #Historical, #Women Sleuths, #Private Investigators, #Series

Spider Dance

PRAISE FOR CAROLE NELSON DOUGLAS AND IRENE ADLER

“To do justice to this remarkable heroine and her keen perspective on the male society in which she must make her independent way, the author adopts a saucy style and a delicious sense of humor.”


The New York Times
on
Good Night, Mr. Holmes

(a
New York Times
Notable Book of the Year)

“As a Sherlockian and a Ripperologist, I found
Chapel Noir
as stimulating and satisfying as whiskey-and-soda and three pipes of shag on a foggy night. Brava!”

—Loren D. Estleman, author of
A Smile on the Face of the Tiger

“Carole Nelson Douglas gives us a chilling crime perfectly suited to the unique talents of her inspired heroine.”

—Jayne Ann Krentz on
Chapel Noir

“A story of spine-tingling suspense and dark intrigue . . . Just take my advice, and read it with all the lights on.”

—Kay Hooper on
Chapel Noir

“With Chapel Noir, Carole Nelson Douglas proves she’s a master of the historical detective novel.”

—Gayle Lynds

“This is a sumptuous read.”


Romantic Times
(4½ stars, Top Pick)
on Castle Rouge

“Ms. Douglas’s plot ingenuity remains fresh and amusing, and for all its fanciful turns, the action never loses its jaunty, high-heeled pace.”


The New York Times
on
Irene at Large

“Setting herself the task of creating a heroine worthy of Sherlock Holmes, Douglas succeeds smashingly . . . readers will doff their deerstalkers.”


Publishers Weekly
on
Good Night Mr. Holmes

By Carole Nelson Douglas from Tom Doherty Associates

MYSTERY
IRENE ADLER ADVENTURES
Good Night, Mr. Holmes
The Adventuress
*
(Good Morning, Irene)
A Soul of Steel
*
(Irene at Large)
Another Scandal in Bohemia
*
(Irene’s Last Waltz)

Chapel Noir

 

Femme Fatale

Castle Rouge

 

Spider Dance

MIDNIGHT LOUIE MYSTERIES

Catnap

 

Cat in an Indigo Mood

Pussyfoot

 

Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit

Cat on a Blue Monday

 

Cat in a Kiwi Con

Cat in a Crimson Haze

 

Cat in a Leopard Spot

Cat in a Diamond Dazzle

 

Cat in a Midnight Choir

Cat with an Emerald Eye

 

Cat in a Neon Nightmare

Cat in a Flamingo Fedora

 

Cat in an Orange Twist

Cat in a Golden Garland

 

Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit

Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt

 

Cat in a Quicksilver Caper

Midnight Louie’s Pet Detectives
(editor of anthology)

Marilyn: Shades of Blonde
(editor of anthology)

HISTORICAL ROMANCE
Amberleigh
**
    Lady Rogue
**
Fair Wind, Fiery Star

SCIENCE FICTION
Probe
**
Counterprobe
**

FANTASY
TALISWOMAN
Cup of Clay
Seed upon the Wind

SWORD AND CIRCLET

Six of Swords

 

Heir of Rengarth

Exiles of the Rynth

 

Seven of Swords

Keepers of Edanvant

*These are revised editions
**also mystery

The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied so that you can enjoy reading it on your personal devices. This e-book is for your personal use only. You may not print or post this e-book, or make this e-book publicly available in any way. You may not copy, reproduce or upload this e-book, other than to read it on one of your personal devices.

Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at:
us.macmillanusa.com/piracy
.

NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

SPIDER DANCE

Copyright © 2004 by Carole Nelson Douglas

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

Edited by Claire Eddy
Maps by Darla Tagrin

A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010

www.tor.com

Forge
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

ISBN 0-765-34595-1
EAN 978-0-765-34595-0

First edition: December 2004
First mass market edition: September 2005

Printed in the United States of America

0  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

For the many loyal readers who’ve asked for, supported, and enjoyed the further adventures of Irene Adler and company

Contents

Prelude: Memoirs of a Dangerous Woman: Exile 1847

1. Unsuitable People

2. Busybodies

3. A Pocket Full of Death

4. Clothes that Make the Woman

5. A Bloody Game

6. Together Again

7. Millionaire or Mouse?

8. Family Mystery

9. Clearing the Table

10. Speaking Volumes

11. Raiding the Morgue, Act I

12. Raiding the Morgue, Act II

Memoirs of a Dangerous Woman: Countess of Landsfeld

13. Tea and Treachery

14. Taking the Fifth

15. The Purloined Paper

16. Imposter Mother

Memoirs of a Dangerous Woman: Panama Passage

17. House Alert

18. Spiderwebs

19. A Bookish Sortie

20. Spider Dancer

Memoirs of a Dangerous Woman: California Dreaming

21. Pottering About

22. An American Atrocity

23. A Changed Woman

24. Missed Fortune

25. A Footnote to a Foolish Time

26. The Last of Lola Montez

Memoirs of a Dangerous Woman: Motherhood

27. Untold Tales

28. Ungovernable

29. Lotta and Lollita

Memoirs of a Dangerous Woman: Grass Valley

30. Shadows of Lola

31. The Dockside

32. Helter-Shelter

33. Dining at Delmonico’s

34. What the Nursemaid Saw

35. Paying Tribute to Venus

36. And Baby Makes Three

37. Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard

Memoirs of a Dangerous Woman: Fields of Gold

38. Forgery Afoot

39. Taken by . . .

40. Shaken by . . .

41. Taken by Storm . . .

42. Taken by Surprise . . .

Memoirs of a Dangerous Woman: The Ultramontanes . . .

43. Holmes Again

44. Babes in Arms

45. A Flock of Fathers

46. Rescue Party

47. The Governess’s Tale

48. What the Gymnasium Revealed

49. In the Pinkerton

50. Sacrificial Goatee

51. Abbot Noir Redux

52. Tall, Dark, and Holmes?

53. Sulphur and Smoke

54. Shocking Connections

55. Of Commodores and Queens

56. The Bartered Baby

57. The Belmont Stakes

58. Family Plot

59. No Vault of Mine

60. Cryptic Matters

61. A Fond and Frightening Farewell

62. Leaving Lady Liberty

Coda: Sex, Lies, and Obfuscation

To all the men and women
of every land
who are not afraid of
themselves
,
who trust so much in their own souls that
they dare to stand up in the might of their
own individuality
to meet the tidal currents of the world.


DEDICATION TO
THE ARTS OF BEAUTY

I would give a great deal to know what inevitable stages of incident produced the likes of Irene Adler. Show me a method of forming more women so, and I would show more interest in women
.


SHERLOCK HOLMES,
GOOD NIGHT, MR. HOLMES
,
CAROLE NELSON DOUGLAS

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