Sherlock’s successor
Since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle passed away in 1930, numerous literary sleuths have appeared, inspired by his most famous creation. But none come close to the original. There was just something about Sherlock Holmes that captured the imagination like no other — his magnifying glass, meerschaum pipe, cocaine, fiddle, his extraordinary deductions, chronicles, enemies.
Some contemporary writers have tried to pick up where Doyle left off, a few getting it almost right. British author Anthony Horowitz came closest in Moriarity, focusing on the London private detective’s arch foe. He makes another effort in The Sentence Is Death. A more complex work, he offers his aficionados a modern day parallel in Daniel Hawthorne.
To be sure, times have changed. He still smokes, but now it’s cigarettes. Drugs and music are out. We’re told Hawthorne was fired from Scotland Yard after he pushed a child pornographer down a flight of stairs. Still, they hire the Seamus as a consultant in difficult cases. Horowitz zeroes in on his biographer: Dr John Watson is now Tony, a scriptwriter for a television series, who fancies himself a crime-solver. His analysis of a murder of a lawyer makes good sense but is, alas, wrong. Hawthorne’s is better. The twist is that neither is correct.
Tony is given more of a personality than Watson, standing up to the lawman on occasion, then backing down when Hawthorne’s grey cells blow him away. Scotland Yard’s higher officers don’t come off well, their suspects usually innocent. Our hero is more touchy than his role model.
It’s curious that in this day and age, no scrivener is able to create a persona as memorable as Doyle’s. Not a copy, just an unforgettable cop. What is it Doyle had that James Patterson, Clive Cussler, Ian Rankin, Lee Child & Co don’t?
(FYI, don’t confuse Anthony Horowitz with Gregg Hurwitz, who also pens detective thrillers. Both deserve a look.)
It isn’t clear whether Horowitz will turn his full attention to Sherlock/Hawthorne. This reviewer suggests he try, although Tony as a wilful Dr Watson takes some getting used to.