The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel

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Holmes tells Carstairs that he will not be able to help him, but the next day, he receives word that Mr. Carstairs's house was robbed. Holmes reveals that he anticipated this, so he and Watson go to the house to investigate. There, they meet Catherine, Mr. Carstairs's wife. She has an American accent, and she explains that they are newly married, having met on a recent voyage from America to England. They also meet Eliza, Mr. Carstairs's sister; she warns them that Catherine is only after her brother's money. One of the most harrowing and dangerous cases that Holmes and Watson have ever come up against! "He had entered a veritable miasma of evil, and harm, in the worst possible way, was to come to us all to soon."

I shouldn’t talk much about the plot either, aside from saying it had twists. Red herrings were de rigueur, as were improbable deductions. (That’s part of the fun.) Without divulging details, I will say the principal crime was pretty horrific. It was certainly conceivable, but I think ACD would have avoided it. That was one of the few aspects of the book that didn’t seem true to the canon. Happily, I was ever so pleased to read this book as I felt that Mr Horowitz kept the tradition of Holmes so alive and made the mystery present in The House of Silk one that kept me guessing. Isn't that what a great mystery book does?

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel

He could not have been more than thirteen years old and yet, like all of them, he was already quite grown up. Childhood, after all, is the first precious coin that poverty steals from a child. Once it was written it was given over to a law firm with instructions not to publish it for 100 years. His thoughts were that all the players would be dead, and perhaps in the future, society could handle hearing the story. As “The House of Silk” opens, Mrs. Watson has decided to retire with some friends in the country, and Dr. Watson has decided to come stay with Holmes at 221-B Baker Street in his old rooms.

Thanks are extended to the author who has thrilled both Jan and I on many occasions. If you haven't read a Horowitz book, best get busy. They have all been wonderful.The story is a bit darker than some of the Holmes' stories, but even this is in keeping with Doyle. Horowitz takes Holmes and Watson places where Doyle couldn't because of the time period. Doyle took Holmes places that other writers wouldn't take. Horowitz also references several Holmes' stories, so it is nice to travel once again with them, where they are in character.

Art dealer, Edmond Carstairs, comes to Holmes and Watson for help in discovering the identity a man who has been following him. Taking the case, Holmes, pipe in hand, turns to Watson and smiles. 'The game's afoot... ' The plot is also very much in the tradition. It starts with a smaller story and the tentacles of the mystery spread out to create a far wider tale with grave implications for welfare of the nation.

However Horrowitz has pulled it off beautifully. I always thought of him as being a children's author as my son used to read the Alex Rider series, but it would appear that Horrowitz writes for TV, film and adult audiences. He is a what one could term a professional author, able to turn his hand to most forms of writing. But in the end, it was a little too muddled for me to love the book. Interesting, yes, but nowhere close to five stars like Horowitz’s Hawthorne series. I've been a fan of Anthony Horowitz since reading Magpie Murders last year. The guy is a fantastic storyteller. He successfully appropriated Agatha Christie's voice in that instance -which lead me to believe he would be able to assume the voice of Arthur Conan Doyle in this, the first book that the author's estate approved to be written in over a century, featuring Doyle's infamous detective. I was impressed by how well Horowitz has recreated Holmes' world and Watson's narrative voice. The House of Silk was a delightful read, and now I'm even more excited to read Horowitz's other books. Highly recommended for fans of Victorian mysteries. When Holmes makes inroads with the House of Silk case, he is framed for murder and sent to prison. Meanwhile, Watson meets with a mystery criminal, later revealed as Professor Moriarty, who provides him with a key to free Holmes from prison, before the detective can be assassinated. Professor Moriarty's motives are uncertain, except that he wishes Holmes to rid the world of the House of Silk, whose activities apparently appall even him. When Watson arrives at the prison, he discovers Holmes has escaped of his own accord, disguised as an aide to the prison doctor, whom he had once helped as a client. Various leads draw them to a travelling funfair, where they are ambushed, before being saved by Lestrade.

As Dr. Watson had shared earlier, this was a dark tale that needed to be put away for a long, long time. And Horowitz shines a light on some of the darker elements of Victorian life that Doyle never would have approached. Thus, the crux of the mystery lies in one of those dark corners, which some readers may find hard to read.Rent them before you see this book because Horowitz worships at this altar. The introduction contains a nod to the Granda production that featured Brett. So, all of the elements are there: the data, the data, the data. Nothing of consequence overlooked. And yet can Horowitz, like Holmes, make from these drops of water the possibilities of an Atlantic or a Niagara? Can he astonish us? Can he thrill us? Are there "the rapid deductions, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a logical basis" that we yearn for? Almost unwillingly, Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opium dens and much, much more. And as they dig, they begin to hear the whispered phrase-the House of Silk-a mysterious entity that connects the highest levels of government to the deepest depths of criminality. Holmes begins to fear that he has uncovered a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society. Holmes and Watson call in the Baker Street Irregulars (the street urchins) to locate the elusive and threatening American with the livid scar on his face. 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.