A review by emmyrosem
The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

3.0

Overall, I enjoyed this one. As an Arthur Conan Doyle imitation, tone and characterization were spot on.

It's a tight story, but not a flawless one. A few of the plot twists felt hokey (
SpoilerInspector Harriman really doesn't notice he's bringing Holmes along with him out of prison? That must of been a pretty great wig.
) and sensational rather than calculated (
SpoilerWhy would good-turned-vengeful detective Bill McParland come all the way across the Atlantic if all he wanted was some blackmail money? Wouldn't he have spent as much as he would gain to afford the ship ticket and absorb the lost wages? And why was he even wearing a flat top cap?
). The final reveal didn't really leave me with the shell shocked "oh, it all makes sense now" feeling that I expect from Sherlock Holmes.

I did liked that this novel takes a more critical look at London, urbanization, and class conflicts than I remember of the canonical series (though admittedly it's been a long time since I've read them):

Spoiler
And then there was the greatest curse of our age, the carelessness that had out tens of thousands of children out on the street; begging, pickpocketing, pilfering or, if they were not up to the mark, quietly dying unknown and unloved, their parents indifferent if indeed those parents were themselves alive. [...] There were, as I shall soon describe, charities that set out to help them, to clothe and educate them. But the charities were too few, the children too many and even as the century drew to a close, London has every reason to be ashamed.


Finally, I will forever be in denial about
Spoiler Mary dying of typhoid fever
. Let's please never speak of this again.