Moriarty [Large Print] [Hardcover]

John Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2009

It is the turn of the century and, having survived the struggle with Sherlock Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls, Professor James Moriarty is alive and well and about to realize his plans to establish crime syndicates in the major cities of the United States. But suddenly he is called back to London, where his vast criminal society has been overrun by a rival concern led by the shadowy Sir Jordan Jack Idell or Idle Jack a supposed gentleman hoodlum acting on behalf of criminal elements in France, Italy, Spain, and Germany.

As Moriarty fights back against both the unruly crime families and the forces of law and order readers are thrown in among the lurkers, punishers, dippers, cracksmen, and the professor s elite guard.

Moriarty lives again and revolts against those who attempt to oust him from his rightful place as king of "Napoleon of Crime."

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A derivative plot mars the long-awaited sequel to The Return of Moriarty (1974) and The Revenge of Moriarty (1975), in which Gardner reimagined Sherlock Holmes's arch-nemesis as a Victorian godfather, and radically revised Doyle's account of the two men's fateful confrontation at the Reichenbach Falls. After surviving that encounter, Moriarty rapidly resolidified his hold on the London underworld in the first book and embarked on an audacious attempt to disgrace the sleuth in the second. In 1900, the professor returns to London, as he did in The Return of Moriarty, where he again pursues a traitor in his ranks. Fans of the previous volumes may notice some problems of continuity as well as passages of the professor's reminiscences that appear lifted almost verbatim from Return. Holmes himself barely gets a passing mention. A reference at the end suggests Gardner (1926–2007) was planning a fourth and final reckoning between Moriarty and Holmes. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

More than 30 years after The Return of Moriarty (1974) and The Revenge of Moriarty (1975), the late Gardner presents a new story featuring the archnemesis of Sherlock Holmes. In this tale, Moriarty, who’s been busy with his crime syndicate in the U.S., must suddenly return to Britain, where his original criminal empire has been taken over by the notorious Idle Jack. Moriarty must reclaim control of his empire, but is one evil genius a match for an entire criminal underworld? The first two Moriarty novels received mixed reviews (some embraced the author’s unique vision; others saw the books as Godfather rip-offs or bemoaned the absence of Holmes).Both criticisms could be made here, too, but remember, this isn’t a Holmes story; it’s a Moriarty story. Yes, the similarities to The Godfather are undeniable, but you can’t argue with Gardner’s assertion that Moriarty is a criminal mastermind who would naturally build an empire around himself. Here’s what matters: Gardner was a pro, and this novel is skillfully written, highly imaginative, and—for a reader unencumbered by preconceived expectations—very satisfying. --David Pitt --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 396 pages
• Publisher: Magna Large Print Books; Large type edition edition (December 15, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0750531835
• ISBN-13: 978-0750531832
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sorry it's Over, May 30, 2009

By 

Gene P (Great Falls, VA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moriarty (Otto Penzler Book) (Hardcover)

I've been a fan of John Gardner since the Liquidator, and have read almost everything he's written. It's too bad he waited so long to add to his first 2 Moriarty adventures, and too bad there will be no more, but it was fun to travel back in time like only John Gardner can transport the reader.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Napoleon of Crime's Waterloo, February 14, 2009

By 

EddieLove "EddieLove" (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moriarty (Otto Penzler Book) (Hardcover)

The master criminal returns to re-form his gang and do battle with other crimelords in turn-of -the-last-century London in a book that's heavy on Moriarty mythology and very light in the way of entertainment.

The stage is set early for Moriarty's brutal revenge and then we wait (and wait, and wait) for something to happen. What does transpire is tangential to the plot, and instead the author recounts tales from earlier books in his series or stops what little action there is to recite musichall ditties. The writing itself isn't exactly bad, but by the final third the whole enterprise is simply boring. And while Conan Doyle envisioned a philosopher of crime who engineered things from the deep background, here the Professor is a pretty standard head of a troupe of cliché villains.

The one great portrait of Moriarty I recall, was in a BBC Radio version of The Final Problem, that comes closest to Doyle's description of a kind of disembodied CEO of the underworld.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Moriarty (unfinished), May 15, 2011

By 

linda pitner (washington, pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moriarty (Otto Penzler Book) (Hardcover)

It has been a while since I read this but remember enough to review it. I really enjoyed Gardner's first
two Moriarty novels, so I had been looking forward to the third in the series for years. This one starts out well.
The main mystery to me is- who completed the novel? A number of serious conflicts are created and must be resolved
before the end of the novel. In spite of this, the novel finishes quickly without resolving some serious issues.
I greatly recommend the first two- Return and Revenge of Moriarty. -Tom