A derivative plot mars the long-awaited sequel to The Return of Moriarty
(1974) and The Revenge of Moriarty
(1975), in which Gardner reimagined Sherlock Holmes's arch-nemesis as a Victorian godfather, and radically revised Doyle's account of the two men's fateful confrontation at the Reichenbach Falls. After surviving that encounter, Moriarty rapidly resolidified his hold on the London underworld in the first book and embarked on an audacious attempt to disgrace the sleuth in the second. In 1900, the professor returns to London, as he did in The Return of Moriarty
, where he again pursues a traitor in his ranks. Fans of the previous volumes may notice some problems of continuity as well as passages of the professor's reminiscences that appear lifted almost verbatim from Return
. Holmes himself barely gets a passing mention. A reference at the end suggests Gardner (1926–2007) was planning a fourth and final reckoning between Moriarty and Holmes. (Nov.)
