"MORIARTY," by Anthony Horowitz, Harper, $26.99, 304 pages (f)
Growing tired of writing Sherlock Holmes stories, author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle decided to kill off the famous detective in the 1893 story The Final Problem. In order to stop the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty, Holmes grabbed the villain and the two tumbled to their fates at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland. Public outrage followed the death of Holmes, and Doyle was pressured to bring the detective back with further adventures.
The mysterious death of Moriarty at the falls is the subject of Anthony Horowitz's new novel Moriarty, which takes place shortly after the events of The Final Problem. In Moriarty, readers are introduced to Frederick Chase, a Pinkerton detective from America who is investigating Moriarty's ties to a ruthless American criminal. While in Switzerland, he soon meets up with Scotland Yard detective Athelney Jones, a gifted investigator determined to learn the truth about Holmes' and Moriarty's fates.
The two soon join forces and discover a web of corruption, crime and murder in London, with Chase as narrator and acting much like Watson to Jones' Holmes. As the two men seek answers, it becomes increasingly clear that perhaps Moriarty did not perish at the Reichenbach Falls as they believed and if Moriarty is still alive, the question rises: Where is Sherlock Holmes?
The story features its share of harrowing escapes, deadly confrontations, unexpected twists and brilliant deductions all written in a style that will be very familiar to Doyle's fans. While the story is generally engaging and enjoyable, the narrative's conclusion, based upon a major surprise, falls a bit flat. This is largely due to the author's premise, which doesn't quite hold up to the end of the book, and astute readers will see the final answer coming a good time before it is revealed.
Moriarty is a fun mystery novel that brings a lot to the table, though in the end doesn't quite succeed. Indeed, the reader may feel a bit cheated at the end of the book and less than satisfied. Fans of Sherlock Holmes stories may enjoy the atmosphere, but casual readers may ultimately walk away less than impressed.
Moriarty contains scenes of moderately described torture and violence, though nothing too graphic. The book contains no strong language or sexual content.
Growing tired of writing Sherlock Holmes stories, author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle decided to kill off the famous detective in the 1893 story The Final Problem. In order to stop the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty, Holmes grabbed the villain and the two tumbled to their fates at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland. Public outrage followed the death of Holmes, and Doyle was pressured to bring the detective back with further adventures.
The mysterious death of Moriarty at the falls is the subject of Anthony Horowitz's new novel Moriarty, which takes place shortly after the events of The Final Problem. In Moriarty, readers are introduced to Frederick Chase, a Pinkerton detective from America who is investigating Moriarty's ties to a ruthless American criminal. While in Switzerland, he soon meets up with Scotland Yard detective Athelney Jones, a gifted investigator determined to learn the truth about Holmes' and Moriarty's fates.
The two soon join forces and discover a web of corruption, crime and murder in London, with Chase as narrator and acting much like Watson to Jones' Holmes. As the two men seek answers, it becomes increasingly clear that perhaps Moriarty did not perish at the Reichenbach Falls as they believed and if Moriarty is still alive, the question rises: Where is Sherlock Holmes?
The story features its share of harrowing escapes, deadly confrontations, unexpected twists and brilliant deductions all written in a style that will be very familiar to Doyle's fans. While the story is generally engaging and enjoyable, the narrative's conclusion, based upon a major surprise, falls a bit flat. This is largely due to the author's premise, which doesn't quite hold up to the end of the book, and astute readers will see the final answer coming a good time before it is revealed.
Moriarty is a fun mystery novel that brings a lot to the table, though in the end doesn't quite succeed. Indeed, the reader may feel a bit cheated at the end of the book and less than satisfied. Fans of Sherlock Holmes stories may enjoy the atmosphere, but casual readers may ultimately walk away less than impressed.
Moriarty contains scenes of moderately described torture and violence, though nothing too graphic. The book contains no strong language or sexual content.
