Anthony Horowitz keeps the aura of Sherlock Holmes alive with his new series. I highly recommend this title to mystery lovers - especially those who love period pieces. Our book club readers really enjoyed this piece, even if they had never read a Sherlock Holmes story before. We also liked the 21st century sensibilities added to both Holmes and Watson.

This book is a mystery, and the mystery is presented well. But it is not a thriller. Mysteries-thrillers can be unputdownable. Minus the thriller element, this book is merely clever.

The author does an excellent job of carrying on the story of Sherlock Holmes as it had been written. It wasn't a thriller before, either. But Holmes was clever before. He still is.

It does bring the characters back to life--very convincingly. But it saves a lot of the action and important revelations for late in the novel, making it slow in places. Enjoyable but not riveting.