Litsy

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel | Anthony Horowitz

#thelitsyirregulars #tli @Cuilin

Thoughts, Pastiched-Sherlockians?

DrSabrinaMoldenReads, kspenmoll, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Librarybelle, mcipher, Read4life, CatLass007, Mollyanna, eeclayton, Bookwomble, dabbe, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Sparklemn

Librarybelle Life isn‘t easy at the moment, and I did not get to read this but read it years ago for a mystery discussion group I led. I don‘t remember every detail about the book, but I did like it and felt that it paid good homage to Conan Doyle and Holmes (the group agreed too). It takes talent to bring a new story such as this close to an original. I adore Horowitz and his books, so of course I vote for reading Moriarty! 13h

kelli7990 I enjoyed this book. I would read more books by him. 5h

eeclayton I'm not sure I'd pick it up on my own, but if #TheLitsyIrregulars decide to read it together, then I'll certainly join in the fun! 5h

kspenmoll I second @Librarybelle opinion. I love this author & will read anything he likes. I did find this book had a more chilling effect on me than Holmes stories penned by Watson. now

kspenmoll Thanks for hosting & coming up with questions that made me dig deep & THINK on a Sunday! now

24 likes5 comments

dabbe

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel | Anthony Horowitz

#thelitsyirregulars #tli @Cuilin

Thoughts, Pastiched-Sherlockians?

DrSabrinaMoldenReads, kspenmoll, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Librarybelle, mcipher, Read4life, CatLass007, Mollyanna, eeclayton, Bookwomble, dabbe, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Sparklemn

eeclayton The foreword really piqued my interest, I was eager to find out why this manuscript needed to be hidden for such a long time. Now that I've finished, I'm not sure if it's because of the scandal and well-known people's involvement in it, or because of the episode with Moriarty.
As for the latter, do we really believe that Watson never said a word about this to Holmes, not even after Moriarty's death? 🤔 5h

kspenmoll Maybe Watson needed time & reflection to get the story just right. It could have bern because he did not want to expose & publicize the depth of the corruption in government for fear that it would cause a crisis & instability. Other European countries were becoming nationalists at the time, & England was as well. Any spark might become what happened inevitably WWI. now

20 likes2 comments

dabbe

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel | Anthony Horowitz

#thelitsyirregulars #tli @Cuilin

Thoughts, Pastiched-Sherlockians?

DrSabrinaMoldenReads, kspenmoll, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Librarybelle, mcipher, Read4life, CatLass007, Mollyanna, eeclayton, Bookwomble, dabbe, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Sparklemn

kspenmoll Legal justice was explored through Holmes arrest, imprisonment, the corruption in the system. When all the people involved in the corruption were exposed, some served jail time. The “ minister” who thought he was untouchable was murdered if I remember correctly. So sometimes justice was served within the system, mos times outside its boundaries - morally justice was served that way. When Holmes “punished” & razed the building down, that seemed⬇️ now

kspenmoll Out of anger & anguish rather than mortality. now

15 likes2 comments

dabbe

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel | Anthony Horowitz

#thelitsyirregulars #tli @Cuilin

Thoughts, Pastiched-Sherlockians?

DrSabrinaMoldenReads, kspenmoll, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Librarybelle, mcipher, Read4life, CatLass007, Mollyanna, eeclayton, Bookwomble, dabbe, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Sparklemn

eeclayton While I knew that the Flat Cap Gang storyline would have to have something to do with the House of Silk mystery, I honestly forgot about it for most of the book. It was much less intricate, and for me personally, the solution to it, when it came, had shock value but felt a little WTF. The HoS part, on the other hand, held my interest all the way through. 5h

kspenmoll I was mostly caught up in the House of Silk as more intricate & intriguing. It did not cross my mind that the author would connect the two. I was surprised that one of the twin leasers of the gang was female. Never crossed my mind- that was a clever way of connecting the storylines. (edited) now

12 likes2 comments

dabbe

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel | Anthony Horowitz

#thelitsyirregulars #tli @Cuilin

Thoughts, Pastiched-Sherlockians?

DrSabrinaMoldenReads, kspenmoll, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Librarybelle, mcipher, Read4life, CatLass007, Mollyanna, eeclayton, Bookwomble, dabbe, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Sparklemn

kspenmoll I think he achieved a really good balance until his drive to punish those at the end- I did like the prison escape; just like what Houdini Holmes might do. now

13 likes1 comment

dabbe

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel | Anthony Horowitz

#thelitsyirregulars #tli @Cuilin

Thoughts, Pastiched-Sherlockians?

DrSabrinaMoldenReads, kspenmoll, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Librarybelle, mcipher, Read4life, CatLass007, Mollyanna, eeclayton, Bookwomble, dabbe, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Sparklemn

eeclayton He fails to see the link between the two storylines early on -- but let's be patient with him: he's never had to do this before 😁 5h

kspenmoll He fails to see the house for boys for what it truly is earlier on, despite noting many wheel tracks in front of the certain building. Or the Carstairs for the evil people they are. now

14 likes2 comments

dabbe

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel | Anthony Horowitz

#thelitsyirregulars #tli @Cuilin

Thoughts, Pastiched-Sherlockians?

DrSabrinaMoldenReads, kspenmoll, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Librarybelle, mcipher, Read4life, CatLass007, Mollyanna, eeclayton, Bookwomble, dabbe, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Sparklemn

eeclayton My impression is that in the ACD originals, Holmes isn't as much interested in the moral layers of the crimes as the clues and the logic to the mysteries. Here, however, he very much acts to punish the culprits. The final bit about him setting fire to the school felt a bit over the top for me. 5h

kspenmoll I don‘t think of Holmes as his actions being dictated by emotions but just observation & logic. His investment in punishment of the perpetrators seems unlike him. now

12 likes2 comments

dabbe

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel | Anthony Horowitz

#thelitsyirregulars #tli @Cuilin

Thoughts, Pastiched-Sherlockians?

DrSabrinaMoldenReads, kspenmoll, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Librarybelle, mcipher, Read4life, CatLass007, Mollyanna, eeclayton, Bookwomble, dabbe, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Sparklemn

eeclayton I think it's important because if the narrative voice feels off, the readers won't be able to immerse themselves in the story, because they won't believe it's Watson telling it.
I feel Horowitz did a good job. The only times when I was taken out of the story were when he tried to inject some modern day morality in Watson's descriptions, especially about the Baker Street Irregulars. 5h

eeclayton I also felt that the amount of easter eggs / fan service was a bit too much for my taste. They were fun to spot in the first few chapters, but later on I was more like “not again!“ 5h

kspenmoll @eeclayton Yes, Watson‘s modern day morality judgements re: the Baker Street irregulars were odd as I don‘t think of him as that judgmental esp in his role as a doctor. I liked the references to his wife & commitment to her. now

11 likes3 comments

dabbe

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel | Anthony Horowitz

#thelitsyirregulars #tli @Cuilin

Thoughts, Pastiched-Sherlockians?

DrSabrinaMoldenReads, kspenmoll, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Librarybelle, mcipher, Read4life, CatLass007, Mollyanna, eeclayton, Bookwomble, dabbe, MaGoose, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, Sparklemn

Librarybelle I think he gets the style right, or as close to the style as one can. I‘m rather skeptical when it comes to contemporary authors writing continuation stories of well-known characters (I‘ve tried Sophie Hannah‘s take on Poirot a couple of times and did not like it). But, I think Horowitz did well. 13h

eeclayton What a scary and flattering situation this must have been for him! It's amazing that he had the plot in such a short time, but we all know that it's not only the plot that makes or breaks a SH story. I think he did well. He got Watson's voice mostly right, and he wrote an enjoyable book. 6h

kspenmoll I agree with both @Librarybelle @eeclayton in that he really got the style right, & each man‘s voice. The plot kept me guessing & involved well written, eclectic& descriptive characters. now

16 likes3 comments

dabbe

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel | Anthony Horowitz