House of Silk
By Anthony Horowitz
By Anthony HorowitzSummary:
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. THE HOUSE OF SILK bring 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.
Group Reviews
Thumbs up: 11
Thumbs down: 0
Wow, did the group like this book! Nothing but good things to say. However, it was interesting to hear how fans of Conan Doyle felt in comparison to those who haven’t extensively read the originals.
The comments were variations on a theme:
Amazing story!
Liked that there was so much of Watson!
So enjoyable, fun.
At the same time, we, the modern audience, felt a deep sense of sadness reading about the poverty, the abuse, etc.
This led to a really interesting discussion about how Horowitz portrayed the abused, homeless, poor children. Those who had a history of reading Conan Doyle felt that this was a very modern sensibility. It’s just not a plot point Doyle would have ever written. And, back then, if you were poor, it’s because you were immoral and deserved it. Doyle’s Sherlock wouldn’t have reacted the way he did over the plight of these orphans.
That said, the modern view didn’t in any way detract from how much we enjoyed the story.
The same group who have read and loved the original felt that Horowitz captured Watson really well, but it “wasn’t Doyle’s Sherlock.” Just the fact that Sherlock had deep feelings was new. And the original wouldn’t have been tuned in to the class divisions or nuances of how the Baker St. Irregulars were treated, what they thought and how they felt.
Didn’t matter–we all still loved it.
Also, every one of us was duped about what the “House of Silk” meant and felt it was pitch perfect homage to it’s source.
A thoroughly enjoyable read!
I read the short story in the series (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22864497-the-three-monarchs) by Anthony Horowitz, and it was a very enjoyable read as well.
However, I felt that the short story mirrored the style of ACD much better than House of Silk did owing to the fact that most of the original Sherlock Holmes stories are, in fact, short stories.