The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel

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Holmes listens to the case with interest, but tells Carstairs that he can do nothing more for him now; however, he says he thinks it unlikely that the man will try to harm him since he has not done so yet. Having said that - once you give up the idea that this is supposed to be "remaining utterly true to the spirit of the original Conan Doyle books" as the blurb describes it, this is actually an entertaining story and Derek Jacobi reads it very well. Inspired by self-confident, strong and unique women, House of Silk was founded in Istanbul by Nilay Kum. Derek Jacobi was an excellent choice as narrator, he has the perfect voice and accent for this story, injecting just enough difference for each character to keep it interesting without being overly theatrical.

It is important to note that Doyle’s stories were set in his own era, so there were no cultural discrepancies. Instead we get a story which will make a lovely Hollywood film giving Robert Downey Junior a chance to show his acting repertoire as Holmes cycles through the full range of emotions.There are two mysteries, one leading into the other: one is nicely erudite and typical, the other quite gothic and brilliantly unnerving - you almost believe it probably did happen (without giving too much away). All of the money raised from these events fund our vital work protecting and saving young lives in war zones. Three stalwart members of society, including one lord, one doctor, and an evil albino police officer, converge on the shooting resulting in Holmes being arrested then remanded for a hearing.

Holmes notes the absence of identifying documents apart from a cigarette case bearing the initials WM, though Watson points to a year-old bullet scar on the man's cheek as suggesting the man is in fact Keelan O'Donaghue. However inured we modern day readers may be to scandal and corruption, the truth about the House of Silk will still shock, if not surprise.

Are there "the rapid deductions, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a logical basis" that we yearn for? Moriarty ("'I am a mathematician, Dr Watson … I am also what you would doubtless term a criminal'").

Hudson’s tea, scones, pound cake, honey and cream sounds wonderful, we all need a Mrs Hudson I reckon! The book is longer than the original Conan Doyle stories but still manages to keep the reader entertained throughout. uk/landing-page/orion/orion-company-information/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Orion Publishing Group Limited.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are enjoying tea by the fire when an agitated gentleman arrives unannounced at 221b Baker Street. He’s actually less disdainful towards Watson and the police in The House of Silk, where authenticity ends up lost to make him a kinder, gentler Holmes, and nobody asked for that. The story is told from Dr Watson's point of view and it is this character who is the thread throughout the story. It is, I think, less well-known that he is also the man behind some of the most popular mystery dramas currently on British television: Midsomer Murders, Poirot and Foyle’s War are amongst his creations.

The big set-pieces: the train robbery; the escape from prison; the freak show; the high-speed horse-drawn carriage chase. The assassins were only very mildly suspicious apparently, investigating Holmes’ lateness in dying about 3 pm. With The House of Silk, Horowitz makes his first (and hopefully not his last) foray into the world of probably the most iconic detective of them all: Sherlock Holmes. How Holmes ‘kept some back’ when all his personal possessions had been removed and he apparently hadn’t kept the bowl of soup was not explained. At least, that's my version of events and that's what counts here because, very unusually, I actually appear in the book as his not entirely successful sidekick; the Watson to his Holmes.The Flat Cap appears to be a more traditional Conan Doyle type story, whereas the House of Silk, reads more like a modern day crime story, but the two work brilliantly well together.