THE GAME'S AFOOT...It is November 1890 and London is gripped by a merciless winter. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are enjoying tea by the fire when an agitated gentleman arrives unannounced at 221b Baker Street. He begs Holmes for help, telling the unnerving story of a scar-faced man with piercing eyes who has stalked him in recent weeks.
Intrigued, Holmes and Watson find themselves swiftly drawn into a series of puzzling and sinister events, stretching from the gas-lit streets of London to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston and the mysterious 'House of Silk'...
This is my first Sherlock Holmes novel - I know the basic stories, I've seen the movies and the BBC series - I am a fan but haven't read the original stories. So this was interesting. I could tell that Horowitz was mimicking the original writing style, which I thought he did very well but I had nothing to compare it to.
So, Watson narrates the tale from later years, which I understand is typical; from this future vantage point, we get the occasional extra titbit, like the last time Watson saw Lestrade and Watson's sadness after the loss of Holmes. The story itself was very good. It was a fairly complicated story, with multiple crimes but came full roundabout, as it so often does. I don't usually read crime, it is a different experience of uncovering clues than watching it play out on a screen. It was good, although I did have Robert Downey Junior and Stephen Fry in my head for quite a lot of the story!
I think Horowitz did the original stories justice, adding a new Holmes story to the already great collection. The characters were amazing, just to see a different side to them was so fun, and the mystery was very well written, full of twists and typical Holmes shocks. All in all, a great book about the master of crime solving.
Published 30th August 2012 by Orion.
No comments:
Post a Comment