The House of Silk

A Sherlock Holmes Novel

By: Anthony Horowitz

Narrated by: Derek Jacobi

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Sherlock Holmes is the greatest detective in literary history. For the first time since the death of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a new Holmes story has been sanctioned by his estate, whetting the appetites of fans everywhere. Information about the book will be revealed as deliberately as Holmes himself would unravel a knotty case, but best-selling novelist and Holmes expert Anthony Horowitz is sure to bring a compelling, atmospheric story to life. With access to the estate's archives and careful study of the original stories, Horowitz is sure to weave a tale that satisfies new fans as well as the most dedicated Baker Street Irregular.

©2011 Anthony Horowitz (P)2011 Hachette

Theres a reason it was accepted as canon.

I wasn't sure what to think of this novel when I first heard of it. I half expected it to be like the modern movies of sherlock holmes, enjoyable but not the same. I was very wrong, this story felt like the one of the originals from the beginning. The way it flowed, the way the characters talked, it all fit. An awesome book and well worthy of being accepted as canon.

A great Sherlock Holmes yarn for a long trip

I heard Anthony Horowitz talking about "House of Silk" on NPR and he made it sound like great fun. I downloaded it for a 7 hour trip I was about to take. The performance by Derek Jacobi kept my wife and me entertained down a very tedious stretch of I-95 South. Horowitz accurately captured Conan Doyle's voice and the language of turn-of-the-century England, and Jacobi created a different voice for each of the many characters. My wife noted that his female characters were much weaker than the men and boys he portrayed but we'll cut him some slack in that regard.

During his NPR interview, Horowitz said that no one had guessed the ending in advance and that goes for us too. As Holmes untangles the threads of two seemingly unrelated story lines, we were kept guessing. When he finally wrapped up the major story there were, in typical Holmes fashion, a couple more surprises in store for the listener.

I'm glad I got to listen to the audiobook in two long sittings, there and back because it would have been hard to keep all the balls in the air while hearing it in many shorter listenings.

Very entertaining and worth the price.

Great addition to a long line

What made the experience of listening to The House of Silk the most enjoyable?

The fact that it is the first Holmes mystery not written by Doyle.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The House of Silk?

Bringing the two sub plots together at the end

Which character ??? as performed by Derek Jacobi ??? was your favorite?

Dr Watson

Great book, Great listen!

The number of pastiches written featuring the character of Sherlock Holmes probably exceed the number of stories in the original canon by a fairly wide margin, and not all of them are good.

Thankfully, Anthony Horowitz's The House of Silk is not only good, but may be the best non-Conan Doyle Holmes story I've read. The style of Horowitz's writing is a good match to Conan Doyle's without feeling like an immitation and the mystery and resolution he's concocted make for an enjoyable and riveting read.

Revisiting this book on audio is like a whole new enjoyable experience thanks to the performance of Derek Jacobi. I've been a fan of him as an actor for years and he brings all of those skills to his performance here.

I've always felt the Holmes stories were perfect for audio due to their first person perspective of Dr. Watson. This style combined with Jacobi's performance make it feel more like you're sitting with Watson and listening to him recount another adventure he spent with the great Sherlock Holmes.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy. You're in for a treat!

really good narrator

I love Conan Doyle's Holmes and Watson. This was a very good pastiche. Holmes and Watson were well-drawn characters, based on the originals but with just enough of a twist of the new to make them interesting. Dereck Jacobi did a terrific job of reading. His voice really added to my enjoyment of the book.

Mesmerizing

Though I’ve long admired Derek Jacobi’s skill as an actor, his voice work here is among the best I’ve ever heard. Highly recommended for Holmes fans—the story is spot-on Conan Doyle—for Anglophiles, and for all those who love excellence in their audiobooks.

Dark but delightful

If you are a fan of the Sherlockian persuasion, you will be enthralled by The House of Silk. It is a dark, intricate tale that has a particular resonance in our age, although it is a story for all the ages. I personally would follow Jacobi's voice anywhere, but his read is nothing short of majestic in Horowitz's singularly sinister tale. He inhabits every character and gives them all sorts of sensory life. There is even a certain irony that raises its head, given some of the modern spins on the Holmes/Watson dynamic; this just made me want to listen to more, and I had a very hard time taking breaks between passages. I had that special letdown that one experiences at the end of a story you want to see continued as I listened to the Stradivarius, but it was a bittersweet decrescendo of knowing the hours passed listening were well spent.

A MUST read for any Holmes fan

Would you consider the audio edition of The House of Silk to be better than the print version?

Yes. The narration is great. Makes the story come to life

What did you like best about this story?

Plot, narrator, EVERYTHING!!! Could not stop listening

Which scene was your favorite?

When Holmes and Watson discover the "house of silk"

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Watson at the end of the book remembering Holmes

Any additional comments?

Life long Holmes fan. This book would make Conan-Doyle proud

absolutely fantastic read.

love the twist and turns and the inevitable resolution that is always associated with the great Sherlock Holmes and Watson.

If you need a Holmes fix

What did you like best about The House of Silk? What did you like least?

I enjoyed getting to spend some more time in the world of Sherlock Holmes, but the story was a bit too convoluted to keep my full attention throughout.

Would you recommend The House of Silk to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend it to diehard Sherlock Holmes fans because it's not that different in style or delivery to the original Arthur Conan Doyle series, but I'd recommend Laure R. King's Mary Russell series much more highly.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

All the voices except for that of Holmes were just fine. But the voice for Holmes was awful! For me, Jenny Sterlin's voice of Holmes, in the audio versions of Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series, is what Holmes himself undoubtedly sounded like.

Do you think The House of Silk needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, as the story seems pretty self-contained and is written from the perspective of a rather late period in Watson's life. But I'm sure the author could write other Holmes books that follow other cases, set in other time periods of the Holmes/Watson partnership.