02 January, 2015

#BookReview :: 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 in Europe from New York. The death of Moriarty has created a poisonous vacuum which has been swiftly filled by a fiendish new criminal mastermind who has risen to take his place. Ably assisted by Inspector Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard, a devoted student of Holmes's methods of investigation and deduction, Frederick Chase must forge a path through the darkest corners of the capital to shine light on this shadowy figure, a man much feared but seldom seen, a man determined to engulf London in a tide of murder and menace. 

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I had heard a lot about ‘The House of Silk’, the first book in this series. Unfortunately, I could not get my hands on it. When I received the review copy of Moriarty from the publishers, I was really excited to get into it. 

The Story picks up from the Reichenbach Falls, where Sherlock Holmes and his arch-nemesis meet their end. Pinkerton agent Frederick Chase and Inspector Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard join up to solve the case of the new mastermind who takes up the criminal vacuum left by Moriarty.  From a scrap of paper with his name on it to the real person that Clarence Devereux is, the author builds up a new character for the two detectives to follow and take down. Will they succeed or will the loss of Sherlock Holmes give the criminal world to rise again?

A Sherlock Holmes book with very little about Sherlock Holmes! Yes, this book takes the canon world to a whole new level. Will Frederick Chase and Athelney Jones be able to fill in the very big shoes of Sherlock and Watson? Well read it and judge it for yourself.

My experience with this book was unbelievable. Once I realized the turn the author was taking with the book, I was in shock for most part of it. All of a sudden all my expectations had taken a whole new level and I have to admit that the book fulfills it all and then some.

The characters of Frederick Chase and Athelney Jones are well created and developed throughout the book. Athelney Jones, who has been following Sherlock Holme’s methods closely, brings quite a bit to the story. Frederick Chase on the other hand brings in a different flavor. Together they form quite a formidable duo. The plot on the other hand is something out of a Conan Doyle novel. The hardcore mystery buffs can play the Whodunnit game right along the 2 detectives and I have to admit that most of my guesses turned out wrong. Yes, this is a great mystery that had the better of me and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride it took me for.


This is certainly one of the best books that I have read this year (last year, in 2014 I mean) and this is certainly the best Sherlock Holmes cannon that I have read. Don’t be skeptical, go ahead and pick it up! 




Review Copy received from Hachette India



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