Moriarty: Sherlock Holmes, Book 2

Sherlock Holmes, the well-known detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 1880s, has long been a favorite of mine. Of course, I read most of the novels and short stories many years ago and continue to "follow" his adventures in every motion picture and TV show that turns up (actor Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal in TV's "Sherlock" is a favorite). But until recently - when it was a special Kindle offer - I had no idea this book (or its predecessor, "The House of Silk," existed. In fact, it was an Amazon Best Book of the Month in December 2014, and I learned that both books were approved by Doyle's estate.It was the description, though, that reeled me in: The mystery "explores what really happened when Sherlock Holmes and his arch nemesis, Professor Moriarty, tumbled to their doom at the Reichenbach Falls." I stayed on hooked all the way to the end - an end that, for the record, pretty much blew me away.The story begins not long after the two enemies tumbled over the falls, effectively eliminating one of the criminals sought by both the Pinkerton agency and Scotland Yard. Now, another one has moved to the top of the most-wanted list, and it appears he fancies himself a worthy successor to Moriarty. Pinkerton agent Frederick Chase, who provides a first-person narration here, has come to Europe from New York in hopes of tracking down the criminal, named Clarence Devereaux. Chase meets up with Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones, a dedicated Holmes aficionado, and they join forces on a search that takes them through unsavory parts of London and puts their lives at risk with regularity.The writing style mirrors that of Doyle (that is to say a little bit stuffy, but totally fun), and references to that author's works are too numerous to mention. I don't think it's necessary to have read Doyle's works to enjoy this book, but on the other hand, a little familiarity with them certainly enhanced my enjoyment. I'll also emphasize that this is not a book about Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Watson per se; the references to both are many, but neither makes a personal appearance (Sherlock, of course, was lost at the Swiss falls before this book begins).In summary, this is the first book in a while that elicited a "Wow!" from me when I got to the end. I also learned that author Horowitz has written a James Bond novel (another all-time favorite character of mine) set for release in the United States in September 2015, titled "Trigger Mortis." Big surprise - I'm heading to Amazon to pre-order a Kindle version as we speak.

There is a fundamental prohibition in the writing of detective fiction, which Horowitz deliberately violates here. Does he get away with it? Only the individual reader can judge. [Agatha Christie also violated that prohibition in one of her novels.] The basic situation is that two men, one of them being Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones, are investigating and trying to confirm the supposed deaths of Professor Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes in Switzerland. The other man is on the track of a criminal mastermind from America, who has come to England with three vicious associates and taken over completely what remains of the Moriarty organization. Can the two work together to locate this mysterious mastermind, of which almost nothing is known, and bring him to justice? The credulity of some readers will be severely strained by some of the following events, but I pretty much enjoyed the goings-on and did not feel too badly taken advantage of by the final revelation. Recommended with a few reservations.

SOME IMPLIED SPOILERS AHEAD - BE WARNED:This book is an interesting attempt by Mr. Horowitz to build on his previous Holmes novel, "The House of Silk" (2011). As with that previous effort, the author seems to think that he is the only person who has written a Holmes story since the death of Conan Doyle in 1930 - something that's now being referred to in "The Lancet" as "Anthony Horowitz Syndrome" - when in fact there are thousands upon thousands of pastiches that have been produced since that time, many of which have also been authorized by the Doyle Estate. Mr. Horowitz would benefit from making himself aware of some of these other narratives.I won't give away too much about this particular book, except to say that if you've read Agatha Christie's absolute masterpiece "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," then you'll spot Mr. Horowitz's awkward attempts to do the same thing. After reading "Roger Ackroyd," the canny mystery reader never ever entirely trusts the narrator, even if it's Dr. Watson doing the talking. Narrators are subjective at best. In this case, Mr. Horowitz's clumsy opening was a giant red flag that made me read and question the narrator's every sentence much more closely throughout the book. When he finally chose to reveal the truth, I wasn't surprised at all. The only real surprise was that Inspector Jones turned out to be...Inspector Jones. Even when the man's wife and child were introduced, I was thinking that they were simply props to disguise that he was really someone else, perhaps another familiar figure also in disguise and playing a similar game as that of the narrator, but on the side of the angels. Alas, he was just Jones. Or at least, he was Mr. Horowitz's version of Jones.Back when this book was first announced, I was curious, and then dismayed, when I read that Inspector Jones was to be portrayed as a brilliant student of Sherlock Holmes. Anyone who has read the Canon knows that Athelney Jones was just about the most ridiculous of all the Inspectors that we meet throughout the stories. To Mr. Horowitz's credit, the Jones that he presents is effective, in that after his earlier embarrassing encounters with Holmes, he has studied in an attempt to improve himself by using Holmes's methods. However, even Jones's wife points out that he is no Holmes, and the narrator is able to make good use of this for his own plans.I disagree with the ending, as well as some chunks in the middle, but in remembering that the narrator is unreliable - in this case, extremely so - I don't think that he has told us the whole story, and therefore we can't believe him, or possibly other parts of this story. As in other books of this type, for instance the various Moriarty books by the late John Gardner, (one of which is also named "Moriarty"), and in "Moriarty" (also a book with the same name as this one by Mr. Horowitz) written by Kim Newman, one must take what is said with a very big grain of salt.I feel that Mr. Horowitz will probably visit the world of Holmes again, as he seems to have gone on Hiatus from his usual writing of books for children, and this pair of Holmes novels have given him a lot of attention. I would urge him to simply write a straight-forward pastiche next time, without feeling that he has to out-clever every other boy in the room with his "new" ideas. The changes he makes in both this book and "The House of Silk" are not really that new or necessary or clever, and sometimes painfully obvious. There are countless books, films and radio shows - too many to list or recommend here - where this book's narrator returns to London after events of May 4, 1891. That's not new. If Mr. Horowitz would read other pastiches, he might have realized that this ground has been trod on previous occasions before offering his own efforts for publication.In conclusion, I've read that Mr. Horowitz has been selected to do the next James Bond novel. I would ask, nay - beg him ahead of time: Just do it right. Don't have Blofeld end up being Bond's brother - now where I have I recently seen something about that? - and don't make Moneypenny into the mastermind, or anything of that ilk, just to show that you can drag the World of Bond in a different direction. (Jeffrey Deaver tried that with "Carte Blanche" and it was a disaster.) Please, respect the original material enough to leave your ego at the door the next time.

A carefully constructed police investigatory novel, complete with Victorian mayhem and violence. Anthony Horowitz has an uncanny ability to construct ingenious plots, leaving honest clues but still fooling the reader. And he writes better than Conan Doyle ever did!

The style is perfectly achieved, and Victorian London is rendered well. But the plot is where the genius comes through. A page-turner and a serious twist at the end … highly recommended!

I read this three times and it wasn't boring even once. It is a great book for sherlock fans

Mr.Horowitz made it very plain in Magpie Murders that writers book deals are pretty commercial affairs - why not, Dickens wrote for money, too: but Moriarty is only too obviously the second volume of a three-book deal, it seems pefunctory, is repetitive and needlessly sadistic in places - I don't remember this being characteristic of the real Sherlock Holmes stories, although I know Conan Doyle had a very dark side which shows up in some of his other writings. Very disappointing indeed.

If you are a fan of crime novels and/or Sherlock Holmes, consider reading it. I am not really convinced by the final plot twist, but it might just be me expecting something different.Long story short: worth reading once, wouldn't read it again.