Book Review: ‘Moriarty,’ A Murder Mystery in the Sherlock Holmes Tradition by Anthony Horowitz

In the world of literature Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty are a staple of the mystery genre for observation and investigation. What happens when they both tumble to their doom, leaving the world looking for answers?

In Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz, we follow Frederick Case, a Pinkerton Detective, and Athelney Jones from Scotland Yard who form an uneasy relationship as they follow a strange missive purported to be written by Moriarty inviting a dangerous criminal into the London underground.

Jones, an aficionado of the late great Holmes, is intrigued by the situation and open to collaboration. He has studied Holmes’ methods and has an amazing grasp on the use of deduction. Case finds himself mesmerized by the abilities of Jones, and fascinated at his internal processing. After having been embarrassed on three different occasions and having missed clues, Jones has been ridiculed by Holmes. The frustration and embarrassment has led him to study the methods used by Holmes, leading him to become one of the best in his field.

Case needs his expertise in order to follow up on his own leads on an American Criminal Clarence Devereux, a devious and deadly adversary from Boston in the U. S. who has relocated to London, and his even now beginning a new crime spree. Devereux has already stepped in where Moriarty left off but with entirely more carnage. Can Case along with his Scotland Yard partner stop Devereux and solve the mystery of Moriarty before all is lost?

This is a strange and unique tale very much in the way of the Sherlock Holmes tales of old. The character of Jones is interesting and just a bit bizarre but eminently very likable. Case is quite straight forward and is quite intrigued by Jones’ pseudo Holmes methods. Jones has molded his character to be very like that of the renowned Holmes himself.

Devereux is very crafty and deadly. Those who get in his way never make the mistake twice. They are no longer of this world. No one knows who he is or appears to have seen him but he rules with an iron force no one dares to tamper with.

If you enjoy murder mystery and the techniques of Sherlock Holmes, you will find a bit of an uncanny resemblance to his methods. This is an interesting work that delivers red herrings where least expected, and holds you spellbound to the end.

This would be a great book for a book club or reading group. The strange and interesting occurrences are sure to be a strong igniter for robust dialogue.