Holmes and Moriarty
by Gareth Rubin (Simon & Schuster, 2024)
audiobook read by Michael Fenner & Gareth Armstrong (Simon & Schuster Audio, 2024)
The Holmes/Watson characterisation feels right, and Moriarty/Moran emerge as an equally absorbing duo (Watson and Moran alternating their first-person accounts), yet the titular conflux amounts to little. The plot devolves into explicated mystery where neither Holmes nor Moriarty (nor Mycroft) contribute much.
Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall
by Stephen Thompson; dir. Toby Haynes (BBC, 2012)
Another clever (if frenetic) script, reworking Conan Doyle’s ‘The Final Problem’ and cramming a whole series of character arcs into one episode. While Andrew Scott (Moriarty) positively steals the show, Rupert Graves (Lestrade) proves subtly effective, grounding the mad turn of events.
Sherlock: The Great Game
by Mark Gatiss; dir. Paul McGuigan (BBC, 2010)
A grim episode to round out Series One, its plot not obviously based on a particular Conan Doyle story. Moriarty (Andrew Scott) proves a revelation while Sherlock becomes less and less likeable—a smug, classist brainbox acting much as Sergeant Donovan cautioned.
Moriarty
by Anthony Horowitz (Orion, 2014)
No Sherlock Holmes or Watson, just a cleverly subversive homage and a body on the slab at Reichenbach, both tagged ‘Moriarty.’ Therein lies the mystery, Horowitz leading as Inspector Athelney Jones investigates and Conan Doyle’s London plays host to the ultimate swindle.