Review of "The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel" by Anthony Horowitz

This is Anthony Horowitz's first addition to the 'Sherlock Holmes' canon and he does a good job capturing the voice of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

As the book opens, Holmes is dead and Watson is an elderly man who's decided to write up one of his friend's old investigations - a case so hush-hush that it can't be released for 100 years.



The 100 years is now up.

*****

The sensitive inquiry begins when Holmes is visited by Edmund Carstairs, a wealthy art dealer who claims he's being stalked by an Irish mobster named Keelan O'Donaghue - who blames Carstairs for the death of his brother.



Shortly afterward, Carstairs' home is burgled and the thief - presumably O'Donaghue - makes off with cash and an heirloom necklace.



In an attempt to track down the stolen necklace, Holmes calls on the 'Baker Street Irregulars' - a band of street urchins who know their way around London's underbelly. The Irregulars trace the necklace to a pawnshop....and the thief to a cheap hotel.



A lad called Ross is left to watch the hotel while Holmes is fetched.



When the detective arrives - with Watson and Carstairs - they find O'Donaghue murdered in his hotel room. Ross, who seems badly frightened by this development, runs off. Could he have seen the killer?

Inspector Lestrade arrives to investigate the case, but - true to form - he misses all the important clues and goes haring off in the wrong direction.



In the aftermath of these events a boy is murdered and an unsavory enterprise - involving VIPs at the HIGHEST levels - is suspected. The latter issue is so sensitive that Mycroft Holmes, who's 'in' with the most important British officials, warns his brother to back off the investigation - but Sherlock does no such thing.



This is unfortunate for Holmes, since the miscreants will do ANYTHING to cover their asses.

At the book's climax - after Holmes and Watson have survived more than one life-threatening situation - the criminals are revealed in true 'Sherlockian' fashion. That's all I can say without spoilers.



The book contains many elements of the original stories, including several instances when Holmes deduces information about complete strangers. (I always get a kick out of these scenes.)

The novel retains the flavor and mood of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, but it's too long.....and some plotlines could have been tightened up (IMO). Still - as a big Sherlock Holmes fan - I liked the book, and recommend it to other Holmes enthusiasts.

Rating: 3.5 stars