House of Silk - Anthony Horowitz

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A contemporary story about the great maverick detective.

I have associated Horowitz with children's books and was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had written a screenplay for a lot of crime dramas  Midsomer Murders.

I was keen to see how he had handled the Sherlock Holmes series.I was more interested in reading Moriarty but I was glad that I got to this one first since it was the first in the series.

Gist:

Holmes is dead, Watson is in a care home and he writes this story from there. The story goes in flashback from when he comes from dead at the falls. They settle down to normal life. Watson is married and once when his wife is away visiting, he meets up with Sherlock. He finds himself on time as a visitor comes calling at their door. leading way to another mystery for them to solve.

What works:

• Horowitz's grasp of the Doyle style is good. It reminded me so much of the master storyteller and Horowitz had clearly imbibed the original Holmes series . 

• It was easy to see flashes of Doyle characters make their way into the characters in the new series.

• The story is action oriented such that you have to be alert lest you miss out an important development.

What doesn't:

• It is dark and while there is not much poetic justice as with the original series.

Overall it is a good read and has prompted me to look for more of Horowitz and his Sherlock stories.