The Empress of India: A Professor Moriarty Novel [Paperback]

Michael Kurland (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur (2006)
• ASIN: B000OT9ZDU
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

More About the Author

A plump, middle-aged man with greying hair and mild, hazel eyes looking out from behind wire-rim glasses, Author Michael Kurland has the perpetually nervous look of a rabbit invited to lunch at the Lions' Club. He has been a teacher of obscure subjects to disinterested children, the editor of a magazine even more idiosyncratic than himself, a seeker of absent persons, a magical explainer, and guest lecturer at numerous unrelated events. But he has never wandered far from his chosen profession of scrivener for very long, since he finds the fawning idolatry of his fans a useful counterbalance to the disinterest of landlords and the disapproval of bank managers.

In Kurland's over 30 books he has romped through a variety of fields. His non-fiction works cover topics as diverse as forensic science, criminal law, espionage, amateur radio, and the history of crime in America, and have been selections of the Military Book Club, the Readers' Digest Book Club, the Junior Literary Guild, and the Writers' Digest Book Club, among others.

Kurland has written a dozen or so science fiction and fantasy novels, notably "Ten little Wizards" and "A Study in Sorcery," set in Randall Garrett's Angevin Empire, and "The Unicorn Girl," which was nominated for a Hugo. He now mainly writes mysteries, including "The Infernal Device," the first of (currently) five Professor Moriarty novels, which was nominated for both an Edgar and an American Book award, and "Too Soon Dead" and "The Girls in the High-Heeled Shoes," set in the 1930s and chronicling the mystery-solving talents of Alexander Brass, a columnist for the New York World. A couple of his books, notably "The Last President," and "Button Bright" fit tenuously into that nondescript category known as "mainstream."

The next Moriarty novel, tentatively titled "Who Thinks Evil," is in the works.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not Kurland's best, April 20, 2006

By 

Paula Clifford "wasamatta" (Nashua, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Empress of India: A Professor Moriarty Novel (Professor Moriarty Novels) (Hardcover)

THE EMPRESS OF INDIA is a pretty good read, even though there are too many oddball characters and the identity of the gold thief is obvious. I've read all of Michael Kurland's Moriarty books even though I'm not crazy about the idea that the professor is an innocent victim of Holmes' bizarre obsession about a master criminal - that idea had already been used in THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION. The biggest fault here is that Holmes is missing for most of the story, robbing the reader of his exchanges with Moriarty. THE GREAT GAME was better, they were forced to work together in that one.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kurland is brilliant, June 17, 2008

By 

Dan Turnstile Jones "torgo0519" (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Empress of India: A Professor Moriarty Novel (Professor Moriarty Novels) (Hardcover)

This author has definitely found his niche. All of the Moriarty and Holmes books by this author very much work in conjunction with the original Holmes stories or as stand alone stories.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous historical mystery, February 8, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Empress of India: A Professor Moriarty Novel (Professor Moriarty Novels) (Hardcover)

In 1890, the Empress of India leaves Calcutta carrying a quarter-ton of gold to deliver to the Bank of England in London. The vessel also carries an assortment of passengers including the notorious Professor James Moriarty and the malevolent Colonel Sebastian Moran. Brigadier General Sir Edward St. Yves leads thirty Highland Lancers watching over the fortune; his eighteen years old Lolita like daughter, Margaret accompanies him.

Moriarty and Moran compete for possession of the valuable heavily bejeweled statuette "Queen of Lamapoor" also on board. However, someone steals the gold shipment. The English government immediately assumes Moriarty did the deed. They ask Holmes to retrieve the stolen loot from the Professor, but instead he vanishes. Meanwhile Moriarty not enjoying the limelight that interferes with his "business" activities decides to solve the case of what appears to have been an impossible theft.

The latest Moriarty investigative tale is a fabulous historical mystery that uses the "locked room" concept enhanced by a vivid look at relationships during the late Victorian era "The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire" mindset. The terrific story line contains a strong who-done-it and how he or she purloined the gold, but is held together mostly by the "hero" who finds being the prime suspect interfering with his efforts to win the prize of GREAT GAME instead of Moran succeeding at the endeavor. Michael Kurland provides a wonderful thriller as the unknown opponent seems to match Moriarty with for wit.

Harriet Klausner