Moriarty

The Age

Saturday January 3, 2009

Cameron Woodhead

Moriarty

John Gardner

Murdoch Books, $29.95

JOHN Gardner, who died recently, wrote more James Bond novels than Ian Fleming. As its name suggests, Moriarty focuses on Sherlock Holmes' nemesis. It's the third volume of a series the author started in the '70s, and represents something of a travelogue of the late-Victorian criminal underworld. Dr James Moriarty returns to London after a fateful final encounter with Holmes to find that his empire is crumbling. A pretender, the depraved Idle Jack Idell, has lured some of his loyal point men into his service, and Moriarty doesn't know who to trust. It is of little consequence. Moriarty is famously unscrupulous, and the master of disguise murders his way back to the top in a series of chillingly calculated moves. Gardner is a deft hand at action, and the novel has its share of high-octane sequences. Having said that, the profusion of period detail and the author's delight in criminal history do tend to bog things down.

© 2009 The Age

Back to News Index | Back to Home