Moriarty

by Anthony Horowitz

Paper Book, 2014

Status

Available

Publication

New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2014]

Description

Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML: "Anything but elementary, this clever thriller is sure to please Sherlock fans." â?? People Magazine, Book of the Week Review "Anthony Horowitz throws down the gauntlet in his infernally clever Sherlock Holmes pastiche." â?? Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review Internationally bestselling author Anthony Horowitz's nail-biting new novel plunges us back into the dark and complex world of detective Sherlock Holmes and Moriartyâ??dubbed the Napoleon of crime" by Holmesâ??in the aftermath of their fateful struggle at the Reichenbach Falls. Days after the encounter at the Swiss waterfall, Pinkerton detective agent Frederick Chase arrives in Europe from New York. Moriarty's death has left an immediate, poisonous vacuum in the criminal underworld, and there is no shortage of candidates to take his placeâ??including one particularly fiendish criminal mastermind. Chase and Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones, a devoted student of Holmes's methods of investigation and deduction originally introduced by Conan Doyle in "The Sign of Four", must forge a path through the darkest corners of England's capitalâ??from the elegant squares of Mayfair to the shadowy wharfs and alleyways of the London Docksâ??in pursuit of this sinister figure, a man much feared but seldom seen, who is determined to stake his claim as Moriarty's successor. A riveting, deeply atmospheric tale of murder and menace from one of the only writers to earn the seal of approval from Conan Doyle's estate, Moriarty breathes life into Holmes's dark and fa… (more)

Media reviews

"Anthony Horowitz throws down the gauntlet in his infernally clever Sherlock ­Holmes pastiche, MORIARTY (Harper, $26.99), which opens five days after the great detective and his nemesis, Prof. James Moriarty, plunged to their picturesque doom near the pretty Swiss village of Meiringen."
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"A Sherlockian pastiche without Holmes and Watson? Yes indeed, and it’s a tour de force quite unlike any other fruit from these densely plowed fields."
"Moriarty is a sound mystery novel, with traps, disguises and a good if not exactly unprecedented twist, but whether it scratches the Holmesian itch is another matter."

User reviews

LibraryThing member OscarWilde87
Moriarty is a spin-off of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels published in 2014 and written by Anthony Horowitz. Chronologically it is set directly after Sherlock Holmes' supposed death at Reichenbach Falls and covers the time during which Holmes had disappeared from the scene.
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Therefore, the novel features neither Sherlock Holmes nor his sidekick John Watson. Yet, some of the original characters are included in the book. These are mainly detectives of Scotland Yard, such as Lestrade and Athelney Jones, and, obviously, Professor Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes' nemesis. Readers of the orginal Holmes novels might wonder how that is possible as Moriarty is also considered to have died at Reichenbach Falls. But this is something that should be resolved by reading this novel.

The plot of Moriarty is easily told. An agent of the American Pinkerton agency, Frederick Chase, follows the mysterious criminal Clarence Devereux to London in order to arrest him. Devereux wants to build up a large criminal network together with Professor Moriarty, who, however, is said to have died at Reichenbach Falls. Right at the beginning of the novel, Frederick Chase and Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard become acquainted as their paths cross due to the investigation of the Reichenbach Falls incident and the capture of Clarence Devereux, both of which have Professor Moriarty as a common denominator. Quickly, the two detectives join forces and continue to investigate together. They unravel a criminal network in London and things start to become more dangerous as the novel goes on.

While I enjoyed reading Moriarty, there was the issue of the narrator that bugged me from the beginning. I was completely annoyed by the fact that the spelling was British English throughout the novel although Horowitz chose Frederick Chase, an American, as his narrator. My first idea was that Frederick Chase is actually Sherlock Holmes in disguise as I already knew from the original Sherlock Holmes novels that the famous detective had not died. Several clues pointed in this direction. Yet, it turned out to be wrong soon enough. The issue of the narrator is resolved towards the end and I have to say that I was quite attracted by what Horowitz did there. At first I was appalled because I was misled by the narrator but then this is exactly the point that I eventually came to like most about Moriarty. The novel has its plot twists and its fair share of problems that are solved by deduction on the part of Athelney Jones. Yet, in my opinion it is not as good as the original Sherlock Holmes stories and novels.

On the whole, Moriarty is a worthwhile reading experience but nothing all too special. 3.5 stars.
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LibraryThing member John_Warner
Five days after Holmes and Moriarty's final conflict at Reichenbach Falls, Pinkerton's senior investigator, Frederick Chase, encounters Inspector Athelney Jones, a Scotland Yard detective who learned much from Sherlock Holmes. Although on separate investigations, the two come to identify the body
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of Moriarty. Moriarty's death leaves a vacancy for in London's underground, which is now being sought to be filled by an American criminal mastermind, Clarence Devereux. The quest to catch Devereux may be difficult since he is a agoraphobic and rarely seen.

This Victorian age mystery reminded me of Sherlock Holmes stories. Chase serves in the Watson role as the sidekick and narrator for the adventure while Jones substitutes for Holmes with his astute observations and deductive reasoning abilities. I would recommend reading this novel if for nothing else than one of the best twists I have read since Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
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LibraryThing member Twink
Well, mystery buffs, fiction fans and television lovers will all recognize this name - Professor Moriarty - the arch nemesis of Sherlock Holmes.

Anthony Horowitz's new book, Moriarty, takes place mere days after the final confrontation of Holmes and Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls that resulted in
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both men's deaths.

Pinkerton Detective Frederick Chase arrives from the US. He is tracking an American criminal kingpin who was to join forces with Moriarty. Could there be a clue left on the body pulled from the bottom of the falls? Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones (who appeared in Doyle's story The Sign of Four) is also at the falls to view the body pulled from the bottom. Jones is a devoted fan of Holmes' methods and escapades. The two join forces to hunt down the kingpin. Chase is the narrator of Moriarty

I had read Horowitz's book The House of Silk (a Sherlock Holmes mystery - my review) and knew I would love this novel as well. The tone, the language and the settings all capture the feel of Doyle's writing style. But Horowitz does not try to mimic or copy the originals. He does put his own stamp on the book. Doyle's estate has approved Horowitz to write these novels.

I felt a delicious frisson of anticipation as the phrase "The game is afoot" was uttered. The clues are there, the deductions are made and twining together of the threads begins as the mystery is slowly pieced together, then the action starts to ramp up as the pair get closer and closer to their quarry and....

....and the final few chapters were fantastic. I had a small little voice saying...'maybe'...as I read, but Horowitz still caught me unawares. And then I had to go back and read the beginning again! Absolutely loved it! Moriarty is definitely recommended. (And I'm really hoping there's another book in the works.)
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LibraryThing member NancyNo5
I was overjoyed to see a book 2 in this series.

Anthony Horowitz does provide the readers with a thrilling although slow story that climaxes with a mind blowing ending. I enjoyed this novel for the author's ability to simulate the Victorian/Sherlockian (is that a word?) environment espoused in
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original Sherlock Holmes novels. The story reads like a Sir Conan Doyle original down to the author's particular prose. However, House of Silk was better.

Moriarty contains believable characters with just the right amount of precarious situations to keep the story alive and the reader wanting more. What it doesn't contain is the man himself, Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Watson. But this story is not about them.

I enjoyed the novel but did have an issue with Horowitz's repetitive use of the antagonist's name in conversations between Frederick Chase and Inspector Anthelney Jones. It was as if they had to remind each other of who they were chasing.

Of the two, my favorite was House of Silk but Moriarty should still be read for its complementary writing style to that of the originals.
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LibraryThing member infjsarah
Although I really enjoyed [House of Silk] last year, sadly Moriarty didn't do much for me. There's no Holmes or Watson and you know all along that there's a twist coming. For me it just didn't work.
LibraryThing member ivydtruitt
Athelney Jones is an assiduous student of Holmes’ methods, monographs, and chronicles as relayed by the faithful Dr. John Watson. Jones is at Reichenbach Falls shortly after the tragic accident that has apparently taken the lives of Holmes and his arch nemesis Professor Moriarty. Here he meets
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Frederick Chase, a Pinkerton agent in pursuit of the ruthless American criminal mastermind, Clarence Devereux. Devereux brings a level of violence and cruelty to his takeover of Moriarty’s gang never imagined or seen in Britain.
Jones and Chase join forces to find the elusive Devereux and end the bloodshed.

It’s apparent why Mr. Horowitz has the endorsement of the A. Conan Doyle estate. MORIARTY strongly evokes the atmosphere of the Victorian era and Conan Doyles’ Holmes. MORIARTY neither tries to be nor compete with the iconic consulting detective but complements him and his adventures. Minor characters re-introduced as major players, referencing the stories as events in the recent past, and having a room full of Scotland Yard Inspectors discuss Holmes and his successes inventively highlight Holmes while passing the stage over to Jones and Chase.
Athelney Jones is an interesting protagonist chock full of admirable qualities. None of his encounters with Holmes showed him in a positive light but they inspired his desire to improve his detecting abilities. It’s easy to identify with Jones.
Frederick Chase, a Pinkerton agent, is a bit of a duck out of water. He badly needs the assistance and entree Jones can provide. He defers to Jones in many instances while contributing when and how he can.
Jones and Chase form an alliance of necessity that occasionally veers toward an unlikely budding friendship with an eye to potential partnership.
Gritty, briskly paced, and hard to put down MORIARTY hurtles the reader to its startling conclusion. Undeniably one of the best historical mysteries I’ve read this year.
4.5 stars
Reviewed for Miss Ivy's Book Nook Take II, Manic Readers, & Novels Alive TV
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LibraryThing member avanders
Review based on ARC.

Moriarty is the new book by Anthony Horowitz, touted as the only author approved by the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle. I understand [House of Silk] to be an excellent piece of "Holmes" literature, though I have not read it myself. Although I have not read Doyle myself, my husband
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is a big fan, I intend to read the books someday soon, and I am a huge fan of the BBC's newest Sherlock series and, in particular, think the actor cast as Moriarty therein has made him one of the more intriguing characters in literature. So I was rather excited to have won a copy of Moriarty.

I was disappointed. The plot is interesting enough.. New York Pinkerton detective Chase heads to England in pursuit of one of the worst criminal masterminds America has seen, Clarence Devereux, who himself has purportedly headed to London to hook up with Moriarty in an effort to expand his criminal enterprise. However, Chase discovers that Moriarty and Holmes (and/or their cohorts) have just committed double homicide on one another at Reichenbach Falls. Chase follows the body, hoping to be given an opportunity to find a letter from Devereux to Moriarty discussing their suggested partnership. Thus he meets Scotland Yard investigator Athelney Jones, who has previously appeared in Watson's own explanations of Holmes investigations as a somewhat bumbling idiot. Jones has devoted many efforts to discerning Holmes' own investigation methods, and Chase and Jones create a sort of Holmes-Watson duo... like, the kid version.

Together, they set forth to try to hunt down Devereux, bodies piling up left and right in the brutalist of manners as they go. All the while, Chase ponders the apparent ill-information Watson has provided regarding Reichenbach falls and contemplates what really happened, and how.

So all that sounds great! And the plot wasn't bad. But... it wasn't really good either. It was choppy and weirdly paced and felt like ... it felt a little like a novice author. Which I know is not the case! And the conversations were weird -- they didn't feel normal even for the timeframe in which they were occurring. And it almost felt like Horowitz was trying to fit a puzzle and "make it work," rather than simply telling a story.

However, as I say, it *was* interesting. And it had some compelling reveals and turns. And the ending certainly redeemed a lot of what happened in the rest of the book (though I won't even hint at what that means because it is worth discovering on your own). Also, there was some interesting foreshadowing.. Although the ultimate reveal was somewhat predictable and a little unbelievable, I enjoyed it all the same.

So, overall? I thought this hyped-up book was not particularly well done. The language was inorganic, the relationships were stilted, and I just never felt like I was really there in the story... On the plus side, as mentioned, it was interesting, had some good plot development, and the end added a bit of credit.

Recommended to .... well, I think this is best recommended to people who need more Holmes, however they can get it. And maybe recommended to other Holmes fans, just with the understanding that it's not amazing.

THREE AND A HALF of 5 stars.
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LibraryThing member agarcia85257
Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz, the second in the Sherlock Holmes series which began with House of Silk takes place directly after the events at Reichenbach Falls. Where locked in battle, Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty plunge to their deaths.

Newly arrived from America, Pinkerton agent
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Frederick Chase arrives in Reichenbach Falls five days after the event in hopes of reaching and following James Moriarty, only to be confronted by the dead body on the slab before him. Joined by Scotland Yard Inspector Atheleny Jones, Chase explains that he was pursuing Moriarty in hopes that the master criminal would lead him to another master criminal. An American by the name of Clarence Devereux. It is Chase's belief that Devereux was going to join forces with Moriarty and together create a criminal empire that would control all illegal activity on both shores. Unlike Moriarty, Devereux is a particularly vicious criminal with a penchant for the use of violence to the extreme.

"...Scotchy Lavelle was sitting in one of the heavy wooden chairs that I had noticed the day before and which had been dragged forward expressly for this purpose. He was dressed in a silk nightshirt which reached his ankles. His feet were bare. He had been positioned so that he faced a mirror. Whoever had done this had wanted him to see what was going to happen.
He had not been tied into place. He had been nailed there. Jagged squares of metal protruded from the backs of his broken hands which even in death still clasped the arms of the chair as if determined not to let go. The hammer that had been used for this evil deed lay in front of the fireplace and there was a china vase, lying on its side. Nearby, I noticed two bright ribbons which must have been brought down from the bedroom and which were also strewn on the floor.
Scotchy Levelle's throat had been cut cleanly and viciously in a manner that could not help but remind me of the surgeon's knife that Perry had so cheerfully used to threaten me in the Café Royal. I wondered if Jones had already leapt to the same, unavoidable conclusion. This horrific murder could have been committed by a child..."

Returning to London, Chase and Jones pursue the phantom that is Devereux through a host of middle men hoping to catch the elusive crime lord. Jones employing many of Holmes' techniques and Chase with a more direct American approach. But this criminal is very different from the type they are use to and will they and their families survive the coming battle.

Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz is a brilliant and sinister mystery in the fashion of all the Holmes' tales but with one exception. There is no Holmes. There is no Watson. Moriarty himself plays a small part for much of the story and I will not say more on that otherwise it would spoil the reading of this well thought out tale. The issue with the book is that it tries too hard to make up for the lack of the two main characters of any Holmes mystery and actually works at being too clever for its on good. Inspector Athelney Jones is a younger, less confident version of Holmes, who can deduce what is before him, but lacks the ability to judge what is coming next. Chase as the narrator is out of his depth for much of the story. The creation of Devereux as their adversary is brilliant. He is as ruthless as he is flawed.

Overall a very well done mystery but will seem tedious and slow to some who are not lovers of the writing style that is a Sherlock Holmes novel.
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LibraryThing member randalrh
Holmes and Watson without either. I think this book is best for Sherlock skeptics, fans who are not worshippers of the great detective, because this is how most of the stories really should go. Or at least one of them should. Next I want the novel in which things don't work out so neatly for the
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villain, either. Except that leads to the messy modern mysteries, so maybe never mind. Possibly Laurie King makes better use of post-Doyle Sherlock except that I just enjoyed reading this novel more than any of the Mary Russell series.
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LibraryThing member ct.bergeron
It was entertaining. We are drawned into the world of Sherlock Holmes and Professor MOriarty right after their death at the Reichebach fall. We follow a investigation of Scotland Yard into the arrival of a new crime Lord. Clarence Devereux, is an american criminal and he intends on taking over the
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criminal world of England. He is like nothing Scotland Yard as ever seen.
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LibraryThing member everfresh1
I did enjoy the book. I thought the writing was good, reminding stylistically original Sherlock Holmes stories. The problem is that I suspected the ending almost right from the beginning, which means that it wasn't a very good mystery.
LibraryThing member nina.jon
It was interesting to read this having just finished The Hound of the Baskervilles.
The book is written in very similar manner to the style employed by Conan Doyle, and evokes the period well, but without coming across as laboured. The shadows of Sherlock Holmes and Watson cross every page, but they
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don't appear. Plenty of other characters from the originals do, with more depth of character than allowed by Conan Doyle. The story is fairly long (317 pages) but it moves quickly with quite a bit of action (as in the originals). Inexplicable clues and twists abound. The plot kept my attention throughout.
I will say just one word about the end – unexpected.
Nina Jon is the author of the newly released Magpie Murders - a series of short murder mysteries – and the Jane Hetherington's Adventures in Detection crime and mystery series, about private detective Jane Hetherington.
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LibraryThing member jfe16
The game, to quote a famous detective, is afoot and the story of Moriarty is in hands every bit as capable as those of Sir Arthur himself as he chronicled the exploits of the great Sherlock Holmes.

Briefly, so as not to divulge story spoilers, diffuse clues, or give away twists of plot . . . just
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after Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty have tumbled over the Reichenbach Falls, Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones joins Pinkerton detective Agent Frederick Chase in hunting down the fiendish American criminal mastermind, Clarence Devereux, who has relocated from New York to London. This book is their story.

“Moriarty” is true to the characters and settings readers expect to find in a Sherlock Holmes tale; the requisite suspense, excitement, surprises, peril, and plot twists keep the narrative moving along at breakneck speed. Fortunately, this telling is not lacking in those obvious little details that everyone misses but which, in retrospect, are patently obvious. It’s a page-turning mystery, ending with a twist worthy of the great detective himself.

Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member writemoves
A Scotland Yard Officer teams up with a Pinkerton detective from the US to capture the new crime kingpin seeking to expand his empire to London after the deaths of Professor Moriarity and Sherlock Holmes. Written in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle, this duo meets with a variety of obstacles and
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villains before they are able to capture the kingpin. Spoiler Alert: The ending is what changed this from a four star rating to a five. A great swerve!
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LibraryThing member michigantrumpet
This thoroughly enjoyable romp through Victorian England teams Scotland Yard's Inspector Anthelney Jones and American Pinkerton detective, Frederick Chase, in Reidenbach Falls just subsequent to Sherlock Homes' and Professor Moriarty's plunge to their purported deaths. Chase has followed in search
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of a US criminal mastermind Clarence Devereaux. A nasty piece of work, Devereaux -- and his equally nasty henchmen -- are taking advantage of the vacuum of nefarious power to control London's underground. Jones' and Chase's pursuit takes them from upscale clubs to seedy meat markets and to the US Legation. Minor characters in Dr. Watson's tales are given new life in Horowitz's writing. The ending was truly a surprise -- and I don't surprise easily. The narration by Julian Rhind Tutt and Derek Jacobi was splendid.
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LibraryThing member adpaton
It’s May, 1891, and the world is ringing with the news that Sherlock Holmes and his arch-enemy Professor James Moriarty plunged to their death at the Reichenbach Falls; narrator Frederick Chase, a Pinkerton agent, has followed master criminal Clarence Devereux from America, having learned he and
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Moriarty plan to combine resources, creating a trans-Atlantic crime empire.
Moriarty may be dead but Devereux is at large and taking over vthe London underworld: Chase combines forces with Holmes-wannabe Inspector Athelney Jones, searching everywhere from the most sordid slums and seediest clubs all the way to the US embassy as they hunt the elusive evil genius.
Neither Sherlock Holmes nor the faithful Watson make an appearance, yet Moriarty is immersed in enough period atmosphere to satisfy even Conan Doyle; the mystery deepens, the body count grows and the suspense mounts until all is revealed in startling final twist which is [spoiler alert] worthy of Agatha Christie herself.
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LibraryThing member LibraryGirl11
Fascinating--a Sherlock Holmes story without the great detective. Horowitz builds a post-Reichenbach Falls tale with a shocking twist at the finish.
LibraryThing member DarthDeverell
In his second Sherlock Holmes novel, Anthony Horowitz explores the period between Holmes' "death" in "The Final Problem" and his return in "The Adventure of the Empty House". Horowitz approaches the story from a unique perspective: a Sherlock Holmes story with neither Holmes nor Watson. Instead,
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Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones (from "The Sign of the Four") fills the Holmes role while partnering with a Pinkerton detective, Frederick Chase, who takes the place of Watson. Together, these two attempt to track down an American master criminal named Clarence Devereaux.
Jones and Chase believe that Devereaux had been in contact with the late Professor Moriarty just prior to his death and, following news of both Moriarty's and Holmes' death, the American will attempt to seize control of London's criminal underworld, filling the vacuum left by Moriarty. The story continually contrasts the gentlemanly criminality of Moriarty with the gangster-like work of Devereaux, setting up Horowitz's twist ending.
Horowitz demonstrated his affinity for Moriarty in his previous novel, The Silk House, in which the Napoleon of Crime has a minor cameo and actually aides Watson and Holmes to rid England of a criminal enterprise even he finds reprehensible. Moriarty continues this trend of elevating the Professor's character while retaining his status of criminal mastermind. The story, while interesting in its own right, feels tangential to the Holmes canon at times, despite minor cameos from Inspector G. Lestrade and Inspector Tobias Gregson. Only when Horowitz reveals his twist ending, which I shall not divulge here, does the reader suddenly find this story immediately fitting into the canon with goosebump-inducing results.
Moriarty is a worthy successor to The House of Silk while featuring a different enough story that it can stand on its own. Both works demonstrate Horowitz's commitment to the canon, as evidenced by the Conan Doyle Estate's official endorsement of this work. In short, Moriarty is sure to entertain new and old fans of Sherlock Holmes and his world.
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LibraryThing member Jared_Runck
I picked this book up on a lark (the first I've read by Anthony Horowitz); I just sort of stumbled across it. I've always been a big Sherlock Holmes fan, so I was excited to read this "spin off." I think Horowitz found a proper "gap" in the Sherlockian universe with room to build a story. However,
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it felt TOO brief (if that's a logical claim for a nearly-300-page novel).
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LibraryThing member john257hopper
This is the second full length Sherlock Holmes novel by this author, following The House of Silk in 2012. In fact, this is entirely a spin-off as Holmes does not feature at all, the story taking place during the Great Hiatus after his struggle with Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls. Nor does Watson
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appear. The chief figure from the canon throughout the novel is Inspector Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard, who featured in The Sign of Four, and who is seeking to emulate the Great Detective's methods and habits. I can't give away plot details without revealing significant spoilers, but there is a major revelation five sixths of the way through that alters the reader's perception of events. It's a very good read overall.
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LibraryThing member FictionZeal
The action in this story picks up from The Final Problem in which Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty had fought at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland and both fell over the falls … both presumed dead. The reader becomes acquainted with Frederick Chase through his first person narration of
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this story. He introduces himself as a New York Pinkerton Detective traveling to Europe on the heels of an American crime lord who he believes planned to meet with Moriarty. He meets Athelby Jones, Scotland Yard, who accompanies him as they examine the recovered body of Professor Moriarty. Together they find a note carefully sewn into the jacket lining of the deceased. It begins to provide them with the clues they need to begin solving the murders.

Athelby Jones had been that bumbling detective Watson referenced in The Sign of the Four. Determined to overcome that image, he has made an intensive study of the deductive reasoning utilized by Sherlock Holmes, but he’s not quite perfected it. So at least for a while, the duo become very similar to Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes (Chase as Watson and Jones as Holmes) as they work together to try to solve the execution style murders taking place in their vicinity.

I found this author very talented at ending one chapter with a mysterious lead in to the next. While I felt that middle grade or high school students could read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, I don’t feel comfortable with recommending this book for younger readers. The writing style had similarities to Doyle, but it has several scenes with graphic physical violence. The ending was a major twist of events that I thought was very clever. The character development of Jones was well done showing his love of his job; his love of his family; and the pursuit of a balance. Rating: 4 out of 5.
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LibraryThing member saroz
Moriarty is one of those novels that looks very appealing, starts off in a very appealing way...and becomes rapidly less appealing the longer it goes on. Its major problem is that, from the word "go," it lets you know that there's going to be some sort of revelation or twist - the very nature of
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the book's premise ("What if the incident at the Reichenbach Falls isn't the end of the story?") pretty much ensures that. You, as the reader, know that there is some information that Dr. John H. Watson or Arthur Conan Doyle either kept from you or unwittingly obscured, and the narrator of this current tale as good as promises to reveal all. Any reader worth his or her salt, then, is going to be on the alert, and I would be lying if I didn't say that in the course of the first twenty pages, I had already come up with three entirely separate "twists" that seemed more or less probable based on the information I had already obtained.

The very first one turned out to be correct. And I suck at solving mysteries.

I'm not sure what game Anthony Horowitz thought he was playing with this novel; if he'd gone for a more straightforward approach it would have been a lot better. As an experienced dramatist and novelist, Horowitz has a deft hand with action, a good command of pace, and a skill at defining characters quickly. (His one obvious short-coming - an over-reliance on dialogue - is probably down to his career as a screenwriter first and foremost.) He clearly has a lot of fun writing these kinds of stories and he wants you, the reader, to have fun, too. With Moriarty, though, he's appealing to one of the oldest, most well-read and cynical "fandoms" of all - Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts have read it all, and they are not easily misled. Indeed, Horowitz is clearly a massive fan himself, and he runs loops around himself to answer little bits of Sherlockian errata: are there two Moriartys? Are Inspectors Athelney and Peter Jones related? How did Moriarty come to exert influence on American crime in The Valley of Fear? It goes on and on, and if you manage to not be distracted by it, it functions as excellent fan fiction.

With that kind of box-ticking going on, though, you'd think Horowitz would give his readers credit for being people who...well...like to connect things. Yet the parlor tricks that Horowitz attempts in this book are so simplistic that when the truth finally comes, there's a screamingly obvious sense of "Yes, and...?" I can't believe any but the most inexperienced reader wouldn't have known something was coming, and - especially in the second half - that renders a light, entertaining read into more of a timekeeping exercise. If the twist hasn't at least crossed your mind by the time of the reveal, well...

I haven't read The House of Silk, although I presume that - as a more traditional Sherlock Holmes adventure - it has no real connection to Moriarty. I'd certainly be more interested to read that than a follow-up to this current work, despite an obvious hook at the end that suggests the potential for a series. (For what it's worth, I'm not sure who would actually want to read that series. It's...not an exciting premise.) I would only hope that there, and in any further Sherlockian endeavors, Horowitz focuses on telling an interesting story. Leave the tricks and traps and someone else.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
Sherlock Holmes is one of the most enduring of fictional characters. Thousands of visitors flock each year to see his London address (even though 221b Baker Street has now been subsumed into the headquarters of a major high street bank), and more films have been made about him than any other single
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character. Many writers have tried to reincarnate the masterful detective and recreate the Conan Doyle's style, some more capably than others, but none have caught the Holmes zeitgeist as deftly as Anthony Horowitz.

Horowitz is, of course, an accomplished writer of long standing having written novels, screenplays (he created both the Foyle's War and Midsomer Murders television series) and his books for children including the highly successful Alex Rider sequence. His most recent previous novel, The House of Silk, was commissioned by the Conan Doyle Estate, the first time that it had endorsed another writer to add to the Holmes canon. That book was a great success, receiving critical acclaim and securing high sales.

Moriarty puts a slightly different twist on things, and is set in the immediate aftermath of the fight at the Reichenbach Falls. The story is narrated by Frederick Chase, an American investigator from Pinkerton's Agency (which would eventually evolve into the FBI) who has travelled to the small Swiss town of Meiringen, near to the famous Reichenbach Falls. There he is met by Inspector Athelney Jones (one of the Scotland Yard inspectors with whom Holmes had collaborated in some of his earlier adventures) where they attempt to identify a body that has been pulled from the river. On the basis of their inspection they agree that this is probably the corpse of Moriarty.

Chase goes on to explain that Pinkerton's Agency has been investigating the rise of Clarence Devereux, an American gangster who has become the kingpin of a huge criminal network extending all throughout the States. Pinkerton's believe that he had been in negotiations with Moriarty with a view to establishing a transatlantic criminal empire. Chase and Jones agree to work together to try to discover how far those plans had progressed, and return to London.

Horowitz mimics Conan Doyle's style very closely - I haven't read anything else that comes so close to the tone, pace and style of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. He even has the same ability to conjure London locations.

Athelney Jones had been disturbed by his pervious encounters with Holmes, and had sworn to learn from the great detective's methodology. He has certainly come a long way, and demonstrates his own 'cold reading' skills to Chase at every opportunity. He has also developed some of Holmes's disdain for the lack of insight of several of the Scotland Yard detectives. There is one particularly poignant scene in which Chase and Jones meet Lestrade and a couple of the other detectives whom Holmes had, inadvertently, humiliated in the past, and they all trade memories of the great man. There are also several resonances to some of the original stories such as 'The Red-Headed League' and 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'.

This is an enthralling novel in its own right, and a worthy homage to the Sherlock Holmes collection.
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LibraryThing member Charrlygirl
I listened to this on audio and enjoyed it very much.

I would never have thought that a story about Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty could be told without featuring either one of them, but here it is.

The narration on this is terrific and I thought the story great fun, even if I did miss Holmes and
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Watson.
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LibraryThing member lostinalibrary
Frederick Chase, American detective with the Pinkerton Agency and narrator of this tale, is in Switzerland after a body is recovered near the Reichenbach Falls. It is believed that the body is that of Professor James Moriarty, one of England’s greatest criminal masterminds who fell over the falls
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in a struggle with Sherlock Holmes, England’s greatest consulting detective whose body is still missing. Chase has come seeking another criminal, Clarence Devereux, an American who Chase believes was trying to unite with Moriarty in the creation of a world-wide criminal enterprise and who was responsible for the death of another agent who had managed to infiltrate the organization. Chase meets Athelney Jones, a detective inspector with Scotland Yard who has also come to establish the identity of the body. Jones had played a minor role in one of Holmes’ previous cases and Watson had portrayed as the stereotypical bumbling Copper. Stung by the criticism, he has studied Holmes’ methods and has become something of a master of them. Impressed by Jones, Chases elicits his aid in finding Devereux once they return to England and, to do so, he will willingly play Watson to Jones’ Sherlock.

Moriarty was written by author Andrew Horowitz, who earlier wrote The House of Silk about Sherlock Holmes but it should be noted that neither Holmes nor Watson appear in this book except in references to them by other characters. But that’s okay because Chase and Jones do more than admirably as their stand-ins. The story retains all the twists and turns, the disguises, and even some of the characters and quotes from the original tales. It is also, perhaps not surprising, quite a bit more bloody and dark than the originals. I did expect a twist at the end and I wasn’t disappointed but it definitely wasn’t the one I was expecting – in fact, it was something of a WTF moment. Horowitz does end the book with an explanation of how the characters got from where they started to where they ended which was good because, otherwise, I’d still be re-reading to find all the clues and red herrings I missed. Once I began Moriarty, I couldn’t put it down - and can’t recommend it enough for fans of Holmes and mysteries in general. Well played, Mr. Horowitz, well played!
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Awards

British Book Award (Shortlist — 2014)

Language

Barcode

3485
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