Arthur Conan Doyle would have been proud of this book. When I think of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mysteries, three features stand out: the mystery itself and the process of its resolution, the warm dynamics of the Holmes-Watson relationship and the captivatingly captured atmosphere of late-19th century London. Horowitz’s Sherlock Holmes adventure, commissioned by Doyle’s estate, is a wonderful tribute on all three counts.
The book opens with an art dealer visiting Holmes due to his fears of being followed by an American gang leader. Holmes’ investigations result in the disappearance of a street urchin which in turn segues into a seemingly different mystery involving influential personages and the eponymous House of Silk and with a cliffhanger of an ending where the two different mysteries are neatly resolved. Horowitz often structures his detective novels in unique ways, such as the book within a book structure in Magpie Murders, and this book is no different. As Watson refers to it in the preface, this book is actually two mysteries — The Man in the Flat Cap, and The House of Silk — with a tenuous link between the two. The fact that Horowitz manages to make this look largely like Doyle’s book despite this is testament to his writing prowess.
The House of Silk will not disappoint Doyle fans. The mystery is top-notch, the resolution satisfying and there are enough clues strewn in the book that will make readers kick themselves at the end for not having figured it out earlier. Horowitz also manages to include some important characters from Holmes’ earlier adventures seamlessly into the narrative. There are a couple of incidents of Holmes showing off his detection skills as well, in that partly impressive and partly irritating manner of his that we have grown to love. This story does deviate from Doyle’s works in a couple of ways though — it turns out to be far darker than what Coyle has ever attempted and the end of the book includes more action than what we are used to in a typical Sherlock Homes adventure. The latter was probably directed towards “any circling Hollywood producers” as Horowitz cheekily mentions in the book’s epilogue.
An added bonus: The epilogue where Horowitz details the conception of the book and the rules that he followed while writing it is a nice little read by itself.
Pros: Great mystery, true to Doyle’s writing
Cons: A bit darker than what Holmes fans are used to
