The Empress of India

November 14, 2005
Sherlock Holmes vanishes down a London sewer early in Edgar-finalist Kurland's fun fourth novel featuring the sleuth's archenemy, James Moriarty (after 2001's The Great Game
). In 1890, a quarter-ton of gold is being shipped from Calcutta to the Bank of England via the eponymous luxury liner, whose passengers include the evil professor, fellow villain Col. Sebastian Moran, and members of the semicomical "Limehouse Coneys," an assortment of urchins and London lowlifes under the direction of inscrutable Dr. Pin Dok Low. Escorting this treasure are 30 crack Highland Lancers commanded by Brig. Gen. Sir Edward St. Yves, who's traveling with his comely and seductive daughter, Margaret. Chaos bordering on slapstick ensues as Moriarty and Moran try to abscond with the bejeweled statuette "Queen of Lamapoor," which is also hidden aboard the luckless liner. Lots of Indian lore adds colorful background to this "seemingly impossible crime," before its satisfying, if not startling, resolution.

December 15, 2005
England, 1890. A cargo ship, the " Empress of India," is about to dock with a large shipment of gold. The arrival of this shipment has not been publicized, but somehow, the gold vanishes while the ship is still at sea. The British government turns to the one man they know can solve the crime: Sherlock Holmes. And the great detective soon surmises that only one villain is clever enough to pull off such a feat: Professor James Moriarty. But--and here comes the twist that will delight fans of Holmesian literature--Moriarty is innocent. Of course nobody believes him, so he decides to solve the crime himself and, soon enough, winds up face-to-face with a villain at least as fiendishly clever as he is. This is Kurland's fourth Moriarty novel, and the series is nowhere near wearing out its welcome. Readers unfamiliar with the world of Sherlock Holmes need not fear: the author avoids the overabundance of in-references that render some other Holmes-related fiction incomprehensible to the casual visitor. This one's ideal for Holmes experts and novices alike. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)