Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D’Urbervilles Review: A Fun Reversed Crime Story

You’re on the train and hear those words you’ve been longing for – “Ladies and gentlemen we will be delayed.” This is a good thing since you’re just at the part where a man gets shot from a gun, hiding in a girl’s favorite doll – by the girl herself. And the description of that scene is one of many that will keep you riveted to this 450+ page read. Don’t be daunted by the massive page numbers, “Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D’Urbervilles is an intense, action-packed read that only seldom reverts to hyperbole.

Told from the point of view of Moriarty’s chief henchmen, at the twilight of his career, Basher Moran paints the picture of a man whose ruthlessness is only outweighed by his intelligence. However, despite the title D’Urbervilles is more about the reactions of Moran to Moriarty’s greatness than to the key moments leading to the Professor’s legendary and enigmatic standoff with Sherlock Holmes.

The beginning of the novel begins with Moran’s memoir being authenticated by Professor Christina Temple. With all the letters behind her name you would think that you’d be reading a dry history of a self-glorified lieutenant. Instead the real author of this work of fiction Kim Newman pulls you into the world of what if – what if this could all be true?

Newman makes nearly every moment plausible. In Moran’s eyes ,Moriarty is dangerous and can get his way out of any situation. After all he is able to create a syndicate of criminals and has London’s underground at his disposal. But Moran also sees the man’s foibles and has his own opinions that he shares on the page such as why Moriarty and his brothers all share the first name of James.

What makes the novel such a page-turner is Newman’s way of interweaving the likes of Zane Grey and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle into the subtext of the overarching plot. There’s also a bit of science-fiction/fantasy thrown in during a train excursion and the search for the formula for Greek Fire.

In Moran’s world where “once you’ve shared, you’re not special anymore’ writing about his life, no matter how far-fetched it may seem makes for solid storytelling and that’s what Newman has done. After all this is a fictionalized version of a man with a reputation from faking his own death to being able to jump into the bodies of others, take over their consciousness, thus having lived decades longer than he should – or is it?