"Sherlock Holmes as the villain? Read On"
The ingenious Professor Moriarty admits to having performed
some illegal deeds, but nothing even remotely close to the
claims of the drug addicted Holmes. If any of it was true,
Moriarty knows that the international intelligentsia would
not enter in scientific debate with him. To Moriarty, the
cocaine has turned Holmes' deductive logic into paranoia
perhaps because the professor is the only person in England
who is Holmes' intellectual superior. Karl Strassenkopp visits Moriarty to warn him that his
agent in Vienna is in danger, but someone kills Karl with a
crossbow bolt. Unable to ignore the homicide and the
warning the victim passed to his servant, Moriarty begins
an investigation that is not concerned about legalities in
order to learn the truth. With Holmes on his tail,
Moriarty starts to uncover a clever and devious plot to
cause World War I to break out in 1891 Europe unless he can
find a way to checkmate his wise yet unknown opponent while
keeping Holmes at bay. The third Moriarty mystery is an entertaining historical
fiction mystery that brings world events of the last decade
of the nineteenth century to the front stage. The story
line is fun though at times light as Moriarty comes across
as a brilliant mathematician with intellectual tastes
rather than the mastermind criminal. Purists may object to
the depiction of Holmes as a foot behind his arch enemy,
but most readers will enjoy Michael Kurland's novel and
probably will purchase the previous Moriarty tales (THE
INFERNAL DEVICE AND DEATH BY GASLIGHT) being re-released in
August. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted July 6, 2001
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