Book Review - Moriarty

Title: Moriarty
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Series: New Sherlock Holmes (Book 2)
Publisher: Orion
Release Date: 23 Oct. 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1409109471

Synopsis
Sherlock Holmes is dead.

Days after Holmes and his arch-enemy Moriarty fall to their doom at the Reichenbach Falls, Pinkerton agent Frederick Chase arrives in Europe from New York. The death of Moriarty has created a poisonous vacuum which has been swiftly filled by a fiendish new criminal mastermind who has risen to take his place.

Ably assisted by Inspector Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard, a devoted student of Holmes's methods of investigation and deduction, Frederick Chase must forge a path through the darkest corners of the capital to shine light on this shadowy figure, a man much feared but seldom seen, a man determined to engulf London in a tide of murder and menace.

My Review
I love anything Sherlock Holmes and I think Horowitz does an amazing job with the world and characters. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, how can you have a Sherlock Holmes novel if he is dead? But I went in with hope and soon found myself lost in the pages and coming to like the new pairing of Chase and Jones. They were witty and a little bit foolhardy at times but charming.
Their are a few characters that could be seen as enemies and each one is portrayed in their own dastardly way. I really liked the shy agoraphobic character, he had a real sense of menace and darkness about him. But each one was well written and would make excellent villains.
The book has a lot of little mysteries that you know are leading up to a much bigger one but even so when that bombshell was dropped I did not see it coming! I will not give anything away because that was the highlight of the story for me, it was just so unexpected and really well played out. I was absolutely gobsmacked.
There is just the right mix of adventure, crime and violence, it's just what you would exepct from a Holmes novel and it will keep you turning the pages, saying that, the book did have a few moments that were a bit slow and possible not entirely relevant but overall it was an exciting read and I look forward to more from this series.

My Rating