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Anthony Horowitz scored with his take on Sherlock Holmes, 鈥淭he House of Silk,鈥� but his new tale about Holmes鈥檚 greatest nemesis, 鈥淢oriarty,鈥� is receiving more mixed reviews.

鈥淪ilk鈥� was released in 2011 as the first 鈥淗olmes鈥� title to be authorized by the Arthur Conan Doyle estate. The book received widespread praise for the all-new adventure Horowitz created for Holmes and his faithful sidekick Watson, with Publishers Weekly writing that 鈥渢he hype 鈥� is amply justified鈥�. Horowitz gets everything right.鈥� Washington Post critic Michael Dirda called the book 鈥渆xceptionally entertaining.鈥�

(Horowitz has also been selected to write a new 鈥淛ames Bond鈥� novel with the approval of the Ian Fleming estate. That book is scheduled for publication in fall of 2015.)

So for his new adventure set in Conan Doyle鈥檚 world, Horowitz selected Professor Moriarty, the legendary nemesis of Holmes. (The book, named after the character, is now available abroad and is scheduled for release in the US on Dec. 9.) The new book follows American Pinkerton agent Frederick Chase and Athelney Jones of Scotland Yard after the supposed deaths of Holmes and Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls as Frederick and Athelney try to find a man who seems to be attempting to take over Moriarty鈥檚 position as leader of crime.

selected 鈥淢oriarty鈥� as one of its 10 best books of December, with Neal Thompson of Amazon writing, 鈥淗orowitz鈥檚 fresh take on the legend of Sherlock Holmes pays homage to the original while infusing it with his own slick and twisty style.鈥�

was also impressed by the book, awarding it a starred review and writing, 鈥淎 tour de force鈥�. Readers who aren't put off by the Hollywood pacing, with action set pieces less like Conan Doyle than the Robert Downey Jr. movies, are in for a rare treat, a mystery as original as it is enthralling.鈥澛�

However, some other critics have been less enthusiastic. found the new book to be 鈥渄isappointing鈥�. As a pair, Jones and Chase are but a pale shadow of Holmes and Watson.鈥� And critic Robert McCrum wrote, 鈥淭o revisit Victorian London, in the months after the Reichenbach Falls disaster, with Holmes dead and Dr Watson absent, is to test narrative ingenuity to the limits of credibility鈥�. [A] twist in the tale 鈥� is clever but contrived鈥�. The atmosphere of smoke and mirrors in which Moriarty winds up will doubtless enthrall Sherlock fans, but runs the risk of leaving the general reader cold.鈥�