I was surprised to learn, after I read Jack Anderson’s riveting new novel The Return of Moriarty, that the character made only a few appearances in the original stories. Conan Doyle was so slapdash about Professor Moriarty that there’s some confusion about the character’s first name; he might even share the name James with one of his brothers. We can be sure that Professor Moriarty was a mathematical and criminal genius and that he met his end at Reichenbach Falls. Except, in Anderson’s version, reports of the master manipulator’s death appear to be somewhat exaggerated.
Anderson weaves a fascinating second act for Moriarty via one of my favorite novel formats: the epistolary novel. There are letters, diaries, and even a wax cylinder that recount a strange tale of a cold, sinister, ruthless man who makes his way from a Swiss cottage near the Reichenbach Falls to a dying mining town in Bavaria, with a similarly decaying aristocratic house where a puzzling crime is about to occur. This being Moriarty, there are a few crimes along the way, since the professor can hardly wander around under his own name and appearance anymore.
Most of the story is told by Clara Mendel, a young woman studying to become a doctor. It’s a bold choice for a young woman in the 1890s, but it doesn’t take long for us to realize that the whipsmart and highly observant Clara couldn’t follow a more conventional path. Her account begins with her unhappy return to Schloss Alber. Her adopted father would’ve been the lord of Schloss Alber and its extensive lands if he hadn’t died suddenly, some years before the book begins. Clara hasn’t been back since. When the present Lord Alber summons her back so that the family “can present a united front” in a dispute over a priceless heirloom, however, Clara finds herself unable to resist. The excitement begins almost immediately when the heirloom disappears and someone is poisoned at dinner.
The mystery is a delight to pick apart (Anderson created a Gordian knot of a conspiracy in this book) but, to be honest, what I enjoyed most about The Return of Moriarty was watching Clara and Moriarty in his new guise spar with each other. Clara is smart enough to know that “Hugo” isn’t what he says he is. She pursues the riddle of his real identity even more doggedly than she does the hunt for the heirloom or the poisoner. Because these two are the only people in the schloss who have the mental wherewithal to play detective, it’s really fun to watch them figure out what’s going on while they also try to get the upper hand in their fractious, unplanned partnership.
I usually stay away from stories in the Holmes universe unless they do something original with the characters. The stories cast such a long shadow over fiction that it’s hard to find something that isn’t just another reenactment of Conan Doyle’s stories. Anderson’s take on Moriarty is amazing. I love what he did with a character that was more of a phantom nemesis than a fully fleshed enemy to torment Holmes. The fact that Anderson did all this in the form of a pitch-perfect epistolary novel made for an extraordinary read.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.