Review: Moriarty - Anthony Horowitz *****

By Brian Clegg

This crime novel dates back to 2014, but given the subject, it’s timeless. Many people have attempted to continue Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes canon with mixed success. I think it’s fair to say that Anthony Horowitz has been one of the most successful, by taking a distinctly tangential approach to the Holmes universe.

That’s not to say that there isn’t some pastiche here. As well as the main novel, the book contains two short stories. One is Conan Doyle’s own The Final Problem – the one where Conan Doyle, fed up with his creation, killed Holmes off at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland – this is accompanied by an insightful introduction by Horowitz. The other is a ‘new’ Sherlock Holmes short story featuring the Scotland Yard detective who will play a major part in the novel, Athelney Jones (who also appeared in one of the original Holmes stories).

In the main novel, which is set shortly after Holmes and Moriarty apparently perish by plunging off the waterfall, we get a new pairing. There is Jones, who after being mocked by Dr Watson for his ineptitude in The Sign of the Four has set out to study and apply Holmes’ methods, accompanied by his own version of Watson, an American Pinkerton detective called Frederick Chase, who is the first person narrator of the story. Spurred on by a letter found on Moriarty’s body, they try to track down an American crime lord who is trying to take over Moriarty’s criminal legacy in London.

It is all beautifully done – there is an excellent period feel, though Horowitz allows us considerably more nastiness in the violence (arguably are more accurate portrayal of Victorian London) than Conan Doyle ever did. The action carries us forward with a relentless pace. And the ending has one of the most impressive twists I’ve ever seen in a book like this. Remarkably (even though this was my second time reading it), I got to page 327 before noticing once more (when the narrator points it out) that there is a huge clue in plain sight from first picking up the book.

An essential for anyone with an interest in the world of Sherlock Holmes – but also an excellent standalone mystery in its own right.

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Now Appearing is the blog of science writer Brian Clegg (www.brianclegg.net), author of Inflight Science, Before the Big Bang and The God Effect.