About.com Rating

Harper, 2015

In his second Sherlock Holmes novel commissioned by the heirs of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle estate, Anthony Horowitz has outdone himself. The first work, The House of Silk, could easily have been written by Doyle. It captured perfectly the language and cadences of Dr. John Watson as he would have described any Holmes adventure.
 
Holmes and Professor James Moriarty have famously perished tumbling down the Reichenbach Falls.

With Moriarty's death a vacuum exists in the criminal underworld of London and forces are at work to fill that opportunity. A powerful American syndicate, headed by a particularly vicious (i.e., American) criminal mastermind is the leading candidate to plug the void and reap the benefits.

Frederick Chase, a senior investigator of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, follows a lead to England, and joins forces with Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones, a keen follower of Holmes's methods, to track down the leader of the gang. Clarence Devereux appears to be the antagonist and seems to have been in contact with Moriarty.

It is at this point that the narrative differs in two significant ways from the traditional Doyle story, which, since both Holmes and Moriarty are dead, is entirely appropriate. Chase is the narrator, typing his story on his Remington Number Two. He begins by dissecting Watson's account of the Falls episode, pointing out a number of inconsistencies. Throughout, however, Chase refers frequently to any number of Holmes's cases and quotes, showing an intimate knowledge of his methods.

The second difference is the level of violence with a scope and intensity not seen in Doyle's stories; nevertheless, this is entirely necessary within the world of this tale. Crime piles on crime. As Chase and Jones draw close, a particularly heinous one occurs. It leads to a Scotland Yard task force where Lestrade and others denigrate the contributions of Holmes and, by extension, the findings of Jones. 

Once again Horowitz creates a vivid picture of London in the late 19th Century. For example, a description of the teeming docks darkened by "smoke vomiting out of the chimneys and reflecting drearily in the water below," the river "black and indifferent," and the entire scene as an "assault on the nose and the eyes" places the reader there. The London slang of the time adds to the sense of place. "Thimble-rigging" we know as three-card monte or a shell game. A "smatter-hauler" steals handkerchiefs while a "slop-house" is a place to find used sailors' clothing.

Chase's story rushes pell-mell toward its conclusion as he and Jones draw closer to the criminal leader's trail and walk ever closer to the literal razor's edge. Then a not unexpected conclusion appears, but maybe not. In fact, events are not as they seem. There is a review of how Chase and Jones found their way. A second recounting of the events of the story reveals a conclusion that seems to come totally out of the blue but is absolutely true to the characters in the story. It is a masterful ending!

Anthony Horowitz is well-known as the writer of the Alex Rider series for young adult readers. His creation of Midsomer Murders and Foyle's War would be enough to place him among the finest mystery writers of our generation. His evocation of Sherlock Holmes only adds to that sterling reputation. The first novelist to be given access to Ian Fleming's original material, he is writing a new James Bond novel which will be published in the Fall of 2015.