Considering the book says it features Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty, they don’t feature predominantly in the story and to be honest this did make the book enjoyable as it meant as a reader I could really delve into Simeon’s story. 

Simeon is a killer, in prison and facing the noose for crimes he committed. It seems open and shut and that’s that but as his story progresses we discover more about him and the work he did while employed in the house of Moriarty. 

I enjoyed the Victorian setting of the prison and the flashbacks to his life before he was arrested. It’s quite a tough read in places due to the brutality of the prison and the murders. 

However, it was well researched for the time period and the author gave the main character a really interesting voice. It showed that criminals can be eloquent and not all of them come from the streets- Simeon did but Moriarty didn’t.

The only problem I had was the ending. 

It was obvious from the way Simeon was talking was that he didn’t want to keep killing after the dramatic events before his arrest. 
So with Mycroft coming in and hiring him as an assassin I was a bit perplexed. Why would he want an assassin? The man worked for his brother’s nemesis. 

Overall a good piece of gothic literature.

4/5 stars