The Hound of the D’Urbervilles by Kim Newman

When it comes to The Hound of the D’Urbervilles, quite honestly, I am on the fence. A HUGE, HUGE fan of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes series since as early as I can remember, I was ecstatic when I came across this story of Holmes’s arch-enemy, Professor Moriarty and this revamped version told from the most popular criminal genius in literature.  In the end, I only enjoyed 4 out of the 7 stories, and even then I was left wanting more.

The stories are mirrored like the Sherlock trilogy, told from the point of view from Moriarty’s partner in crime and 2^nd in command, Colonel Moran.  Instead of the inner workings and quasi intellectual behavior we read in Watson’s chronicles of Holmes, Moran takes center stage in most of the tale and little is mentioned of Professor Moriarty and his consulting circle of crime.

Hats off to Kim Newman and her attempt at recreating magic with a popular character from literature in The Hound of the D'Urbervilles, but in the end, the idea was there, but the execution was off the mark.

4 JAGS