The House of Silk - Anthony Horowitz

The House of Silk

By Anthony Horowitz

  • Release Date: 2011-11-01
  • Genre: Historical Mysteries
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 687 Ratings
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Description

For the first time in its one-hundred-and-twenty-five-year history, the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate has authorized a new Sherlock Holmes novel.

Once again, The Game's Afoot...

London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap - a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place.

Almost unwillingly, Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opium dens and much, much more. And as they dig, they begin to hear the whispered phrase-the House of Silk-a mysterious entity that connects the highest levels of government to the deepest depths of criminality. Holmes begins to fear that he has uncovered a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society.

The Arthur Conan Doyle Estate chose the celebrated, #1 New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz to write The House of Silk because of his proven ability to tell a transfixing story and for his passion for all things Holmes. Destined to become an instant classic, The House of Silk brings Sherlock Holmes back with all the nuance, pacing, and almost superhuman powers of analysis and deduction that made him the world's greatest detective, in a case depicting events too shocking, too monstrous to ever appear in print...until now.

Reviews

  • Excellent

    5
    By @dremilyduncan
    Incredibly smart and fascinating

  • Unexpected storyline…

    5
    By Mylor007
    …however, very well worth the read because of its explorations of the under under-belly of organized crime.

  • Riveting

    5
    By Lower7896
    So many different narrative “threads”come together “seamlessly” at the end.

  • Lacking as entertainment

    3
    By DrBilly
    Unfortunately, I have found it difficult to read a chapter, set it down, then pick it up a few days later and recall the story well enough to pick-up where I left-off. I find myself spending too much time trying to review and remember what I’ve already read. Unlike the original stories, more time and effort is expended (by the author) in being “authentic,” than in telling the story. Is this Sherlock Holmes? Yes. Is it a good story? Maybe. But here there will perhaps be a divergence of opinion between art and entertainment. I am a Holmes fan, but am in it for the entertainment. This falls short of most — if not all — of Doyle’s work. It may be laudable for its legitimacy but I can’t really recommend it as entertainment.

  • Shades of Conan Doyle

    5
    By AguaJefe
    I have read the complete Sherlock Holmes. This is most true to the original. I found it to be intriguing, complex, and engaging. The style, vocabulary, and phrasing were much like Doyle. A fit inclusion to the Holmes pantheon.

  • Amazing tribute

    5
    By Author221
    Brilliant story. An emotional rollercoaster all the way to the end.

  • A brilliant, engaging novel

    5
    By WHoskins
    Horowitz has the ability to engage his readers with a true Doyle-esque style of writing from start to finish. Highly recommend this novel to all who love the original Holmes stories.

  • Doyle brought back to life.

    5
    By Mikbon
    I have read every one of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories over and over since I was about twelve years old. My father owned all the stories bound in leather which were old and worn. I have also, as an adult, read numerous pastiches of Sherlock but never have I felt that I was reading an original Conan Doyle story until I read Anthony Horowitz's House of Silk. It made me feel that I had discovered a long lost actual Sherlock Holmes story. The voice of Watson is perfect. The feeling of Victorian times is eerily accurate.

  • Good book

    5
    By Mustang Pete
    Enjoyed this very much.

  • Doyle Worthy

    5
    By Lackey1234
    I have read all of the original Holmes novels and this fits in perfectly, the diction, the details, the crimes, all of it! I was excited from the very beginning to get my hands on this novel and I'm very glad I did. The deductive reasoning Horowitz creates matches that of Doyle and I doubt I could spot the differences. The story in this book, although a little disturbing, kept me reading the entire way. The suspense and imagery were extremely intense and made the book altogether better. Even if you have not read the original books by Doyle you'll pick right up. I highly recommend this book.

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