In the pantheon of literature’s more impressive villains, Sherlock Holmes’s greatest nemesis, James Moriarty, stands alone. As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle describes him in the classic tale “The Final Solution,” Moriarty is a genius, a philosopher, and a spider in the center of his web. He is the Napolean of crime—and now, for the first-time ever, New York Times bestselling novelist Ridley Pearson explores the origins of his evil ways.
Our story begins when James and his younger sister, Moria, are unceremoniously sent off to boarding school at Baskerville Academy. It is not a fate either want or welcome—but generations of Moriarty men have graduated from Baskerville’s hallowed halls. And now so too must James. It’s at Baskerville where James is first paired with a rather unexpected roommate—Sherlock Holmes. The two don’t get along almost instantly, but when the school’s heirloom Bible goes missing and cryptic notes with disconcerting clues start finding their way into James’s hands, the two boys decide that they must work together to solve a mystery so fraught with peril, it will change both their lives forever!
It’s another seat-of-your-pants mystery from the bestselling author of Peter and the Starcatchers and The Kingdom Keepers series, Ridley Pearson.
Ridley Pearson is the New York Times bestselling author of more than two dozen novels, including The Red Room, Choke Point, and The Risk Agent, as well as the Walt Fleming and Lou Boldt crime series, and many books for young readers. He lives with his family, dividing his time between St. Louis, Missouri, and Hailey, Idaho.
The story did hook me from page one because it was told from Moriarty sister point of view Moria and I loved seeing this complex story from her POV and I wanted to keep reading from page one.
This story is set in a well- developed world that includes a boarding school and I love it. I think it is important to note the world building is very important to this novel and it also does take up some space and that does slow down the story at points. I want to see the impact this world building has on how smooth book two will be.
As I mentioned below the pacing was slow at points but once you got the middle of the story it did speed up and I became super invested in the story.
This was a unique way to get to know the characters because it was told from a different character point of view. I grew to really enjoy the character of Moria but also see the two main leads in more of a normal lense because I did not see the story from their POV so I saw them less as always being right and always be wrong but both in shades of gray. I did like the trio dynamics the developed between the characters.
The conflict was the letters that were being set and what they mean and also what is it leading James to do. It made the story become very fast pace because I wanted to get to the next clue. So much of what is to come was teased and I expected more in future books.
I think this dialogue was heightened and not typical of kids today that is more because of the story being a Sherlock Holmes story and the dialogue do fit the characters.
The ending was such a tease because it sets up so much for the future but I am excited to see where the long term story goes.
Book in a Pinch
Moriarty and Holmes in elite private school and the game is afoot.
Go Into This One Knowing
It is book one of a series and does a lot of world building at first so the story can be slow at points.
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