Moriarty

Sherlock Holmes, Book 2

By: Anthony Horowitz

Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The game is once again afoot in this thrilling mystery from the best-selling author of The House of Silk, sanctioned by the Conan Doyle estate, which explores what really happened when Sherlock Holmes and his arch nemesis Professor Moriarty tumbled to their doom at the Reichenbach Falls.

Internationally best-selling author Anthony Horowitz's nail-biting new novel plunges us back into the dark and complex world of detective Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty - dubbed the "Napoleon of crime" by Holmes - 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 place - 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 capital - from the elegant squares of Mayfair to the shadowy wharfs and alleyways of the London Docks - 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 the only writer to earn the seal of approval from Conan Doyle's estate, Moriarty breathes life into Holmes's dark and fascinating world.

©2014 Anthony Horowitz (P)2014 Harper Collins Publishers

Read, don't listen

The American accents are unforgivable. The story is meh in the telling--the dynamic between the new pseudo-Watson and pseudo-Holmes feeling a bit unbelievable in the reading of it--an annoying experience. This is mitigated somewhat by the twist toward the end. However I do often find twists to be cheap gimmicks, and can't make up my mind about this one....bookclub , where are you when I need you?!?

😮 <— my actual face

This book started as your standard Sherlock novel and then got more and more shocking. I absolutely loved it! Fantastic writing!!!

Great story!

Just like the good old fashioned Sherlock Holmes novels. Horowitz does the novels justice. Great storyline

Not great

Accents are difficult. But slipping between accents for the same character in the progression of a conversation is just downright annoying. One of my favorite authors, so disappointed that the caliber of this novel fell a bit below the scale to which I've become accustomed.

Moriarty

Loved it though it broke my heart to have Jones die. I would have never guessed the ending.

Unfortunate plot twist

I was enjoying the book until the plot twist. After that I lost interest and had no desire to keep listening. Some listeners may find the twist brilliant, but there's something about offing characters the reader has become attached to at the end of the book that feels more like a gimmick than anything else. It was an emotional manipulation that didn't work for me. I've really enjoyed Anthony Horowitz's other books and enjoyed this to a point and then didn't care about listening to the end.

Shouldn't have worked, but it did

There are so many pieces of this audiobook that don't seem to work, but by the end of it all they did all work together -- the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Many of the accents seemed a little wrong, but I understood and that was OK. Some of the plot seemed wrong, but in minor ways that didn't detract from the flow. Somehow, it all worked together to create an enjoyable audiobook when all was said and done.

Although - as many have said - Sherlock doesn't appear in this book (taking place immediately after the Reichenbach Falls event), I don't agree that he doesn't isn't a part of this book.....His personality and notoriety are a strong factor in this book, playing a part in the actions of all the major characters. Still, I enjoyed it for what it is, not for being a part of the "Sherlock Holmes" world. The writing was good, the plot made sense without being too obvious, and the characters were interesting. I picked this title based on my enjoyment of House of Silk and not because I am a Holmes-ophile, and I was not disappointed.

I'm a big Anthony Horowitz fan, not his best

It's called Moriarty so you are expecting him to turn up sooner or later, but to throw him in at the end with little tie-in is weak. The body count is getting out of control. Makes each death more and more insignificant.

Amazing!!!

It is hard for an author or a story to catch me truly off guard. Horowitz & Moriarty did. Several times. An excellent story, well performed, and several gasp out loud plot twists. Two thumbs up!!!

An Abominable Moriarty!

Would you listen to Moriarty again? Why?

Yes. I love Horowitz' Holmes books. He really carries on the classic series in the true spirit of Conan-Doyle

What did you like best about this story?

The unpredictable ending

Any additional comments?

this is a great read/listen