Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz

Moriarty

by Anthony Horowitz

Sherlock Holmes is dead.

Days after Holmes and his arch-enemy Moriarty fall to their doom at the Reichenbach Falls, Pinkerton agent Frederick Chase arrives from New York. The death of Moriarty has created a poisonous vacuum which has been swiftly filled by a fiendish new criminal mastermind. Ably assisted by Inspector Athelney Jones, a devoted student of Holmes's methods of investigation and deduction, Chase must hunt down this shadowy figure, a man much feared but seldom seen, a man determined to engulf London in a tide of murder and menace.

The game is afoot . . .

Reviewed by Rinn on

3 of 5 stars

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I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher as part of a blog tour. Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.

This review is part of the TLC Book Tours tour for Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz.

I’m not really one for blog tours nowadays – or rather, I’m very picky about which books I go for. However, having read Anthony Horowitz’ first Sherlock Holmes reboot, House of Silk, I knew I would be more than happy to join the tour for its sequel, Moriarty.

As with House of Silk, Horowitz immediately captures the spirit and style of Arthur Conan Doyle’s writing, and honestly if I was given a sample of writing from the two of them, I’d be hard pressed to tell them apart. Therefore these books fit seamlessly into the Sherlock Holmes universe, and I really do believe that Anthony Horowitz was the perfect choice to take on this big task. His Victorian London is dark and atmospheric, and it’s easy to imagine Holmes and Watson solving crime there. It was also interesting to meet a character so similar to Sherlock – or rather, a man so obsessed with him that he had begun to mimic Sherlock’s ways and techniques.

Unfortunately, despite the fantastic writing, I wasn’t hugely drawn in by the story. House of Silk kept me reading, turning pages and following the mystery, but I just wasn’t quite as interested in Moriarty. I felt the ending was a little predictable, although I have to admit it wasn’t until about half way through that I worked it out – I had someone else in mind for the first fifty percent or so.

Overall, a good addition to the Sherlock Holmes universe, and I stand by my word when I say they could not have picked anyone better than Anthony Horowitz to carry on writing about Holmes. Not quite as enjoyable as House of Silk for me personally, but a fun mystery novel nonetheless, with a wonderful cover to boot.

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  • Started reading
  • 22 December, 2014: Finished reading
  • 22 December, 2014: Reviewed