The Return of Moriarty
'Ingenious' Sunday Times
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- $229.00
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- $229.00
Descripción editorial
'Every now and then you read the first book in a new series, and you just know that you are going to end up devouring every subsequent book as soon as they land' STYLIST
'An outstanding historical murder mystery' Guy Morpuss
Sherlock Holmes is dead. But his nemesis is not.
James Moriarty is severely wounded, his organisation has been dismantled and Sherlock Holmes is dead. Fleeing to recover, desperate to rebuild his empire, Moriarty must assume a new identity.
Months after Sherlock's death, aspiring doctor Clara Mendel returns to Schloss Alber after a six-year absence. The vast estate, which hangs high upon the cliffs of Bavaria, is home to the noble Alber family. A priceless sword, on which the family's wealth and reputation depends, has been stolen from the grave of the intended heir, Clara's step-father.
Lord Alber has placed his trust firmly in his esteemed new friend, a Mr Hugo Strahm, to find the sword and prevent the noble family's ruin. Once they have spent more time together, Clara becomes intrigued by Strahm's formidable intellect: finally she has an equal at Schloss Alber.
But Clara isn't naïve. She knows the secrets a great house like Schloss Alber can hide. And as she spends more time in Mr Strahm's company. she begins to suspect him of hiding his true identity. Can she really trust him to find the missing sword?
The start of a fiendishly inventive and enjoyable new historical mystery series. Jack Anderson's Moriarty Mystery books see Sherlock Holmes' iconic villain re-invented for a whole new generation of readers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British crime and horror novelist Anderson (The Grief Doctor) delivers a wobbly Sherlock Holmes spin-off focused on the detective's nemesis, professor James Moriarty. Picking up immediately after the events of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Final Problem, Anderson builds a world where Holmes has perished and Moriarty has evaded prosecution by assuming the persona of the wealthy Hugo Strahm. As Strahm, he accepts an invitation to visit Lord Alber's ancestral estate in Bavaria. Another, less welcome guest is 24-year-old medical student Clara Mendel, stepdaughter of Alber's deceased eldest son. The lord's remaining children are suspicious of Clara's return to the fold, fearing she may want to stake a claim to the family's most valuable heirloom: a ceremonial, jewel-encrusted saber made of solid gold. When Alber is poisoned at dinner, Moriarty (maintaining the Strahm facade) warily allies with Clara to ferret out the murderer. Anderson, who tells the tale primarily through witness statements, letters, and diary entries, gets points for ambition. The pacing, however, is jerky, with a protracted climax and too much perspective-switching throughout. It's a mixed bag.
