A Respectable Lady: A Short Story

The first editor who read this story rejected it, saying it was too "sordid" for Sherlock Holmes fans!(Note: "A Respectable Lady" is a short story. It is also available in the author's 10-story collection, Daggyland #2.)* * *The year is 1881. London. The Victorian era. A man and woman meet in a restaurant for a quiet chat. Or it a war?Their paths have crossed before, and it ended badly.Now, one of them will have to make amends. What transpires between them tonight will shape the Crown's battle for law and order well into the next century.This controversial pastiche first appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.* * *"D'Agnese writes the most unusual and interesting books." -BookViews Joseph D'Agnese is a journalist and author who has written for children and adults alike. He's been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Discover, and other national publications.In a career spanning more than twenty years, his work has been honored with awards in three vastly different areas-science journalism, children's literature, and mystery fiction.His science articles have twice appeared in the anthology Best American Science Writing.His children's book, Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci, was an honoree for the Mathical Book Prize-the first-ever prize for math-themed children's books.One of his crime stories won the 2015 Derringer Award for short mystery fiction. Another of his stories was selected by mega-bestselling author James Patterson for inclusion in the prestigious annual anthology, Best American Mystery Stories 2015.D'Agnese's crime fiction has appeared in Shotgun Honey, Plots with Guns, Beat to a Pulp, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly, and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.D'Agnese lives in North Carolina with his wife, the New York Times bestselling author Denise Kiernan (The Girls of Atomic City).