Anthony Horowitz who created and does an exemplary job of writing the popular British television series Foyle's War and the young adult Alex Rider series has captured the style and tone of Conan Doyle's tales of the consummate British detective, Sherlock Holmes. As in those familiar Conan Doyle stories Holmes friend/assistant/biographer, Dr. Watson, is the narrator. He relates the story years later, long after the death of Holmes and Watson's dear wife, Mary. Many characters from the original stories make appearances including Scotland Yard's Inspector Lestrade, Holmes housekeeper Mrs. Hudson, his brother Mycroft, Dr. Trevelyan who first appeared in "The Adventure of the Resident Patient" and the Baker Street Irregulars. What begins as a tale of an attempted robbery on an American train and the destruction of several valuable paintings soon becomes a saga of murder and intrigue in which Holmes finds himself jailed for the murder of a young girl. It is all connected to the mysterious "House of Silk" whose members have warned Holmes against further investigations and which no one, not even brother Mycroft, is willing to talk about. In the end the House of Silk is far more evil than the clues lead you to believe. There is more action than in the traditional Holmes stories including frequent gunplay and a "high speed" carriage chase. Horowitz has captured Holmes and Watson with great style while still managing to touch on the plight of orphaned children at the turn of the 20th century. I listened to the audiobook version read by by the actor, Sir Derek Jacobi (I, Claudius; Brother Cadfael). Jacobi captured the voice of Dr. Watson magnificently although in my mind Holmes & Watson will always look like Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
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