The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz - A Review

A few years ago I got the complete works of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle for Christmas and spent a pleasurable few weeks reading through them all.There was even included a short novel of stories about Sherlock Holmes that had been done by other authors. They were ok but I can't say I was ever really struck by them. They just didn't seem to live up to the standard that had previous been set. So when I learned that Anthony Horowitz was planning to write a novel about the famous detective himself I was conflicted yet hopeful. If anyone could carry on the work of Conan Doyle it was he.

And having just finished the book I find that it has lived up to expectations. The general plot is that Watson is nearing the end of his life and before he goes has decided to write out one case of Holmes' that never made it to print. However the country is at war (presumably the Second World War) and the scandal that publishing the case might cause would destabilise the government at precisely the wrong time. So once he finishes he will order the manuscript to be sealed away for the next hundred or so years, when society might be more able to cope with the scandal. The case was, naturally, the House of Silk. 

Now the real trouble here was to manage to create a scandal that really could have plausibly caused such shock, and I believe that Horowitz has managed to do that. The path to this conclusion is full of all we know and love about Holmes. In fact it really is all here, from the deducing of peoples professions to the Baker Street Irregulars. Even Moriarty makes an appearance. I might criticise it as trying to shove a lot of familiar items in to make us recognise and have a wave of nostalgia bear us through some parts of the story were it not all subtly woven into the plot in a way that made its inclusion natural and indeed necessary. Even through it was a good deal longer than all the other books, make no mistake; this was a Holmes novel in the best spirit of the thing.

However it wasn't perfect. My main problem with it was the trouble I had trying to place it on the timeline. It seemed to come at quiet a late point in Holmes and Watson's acquaintance and yet Moriarty is still on the scene. Though that might just be because it has been awhile since I read the originals. There was quite a lot of nostalgia used; Watson referring to previous cases a lot more than I remember him doing before. 

But It is a good book. A solid book. 

And a very entertaining read. I rate it at an eight out of ten and recommend that you buy it immediately. And here's the Amazon link so that you may do so.