Another fun installment!

We’ve officially moved from Sherlock to our new antagonist, Charles Augustus Milverton, the media king of England. I view him like Rupert Murdoch, inherently evil all around. He decides he wants to take down the Moriarty family and hires someone to dig into old documents to figure out their backstory and what he can exploit from them. This plot point allows readers to learn the Moriarty brothers’ history and how they became so successful. It gives a great amount of context to their backstories and personalities, and I enjoyed seeing how resourceful the brothers were, even as small children.  Somehow they’re smart enough to win a court battle, which is entirely ridiculous but works within the story’s context.

Aside from the backstory moments, the rest of the volume is dedicated to the most wholesome garden party in history. To keep the guests in line, the guys turn up the charm while also doing their best to keep the female guests out of the house and away from their secret projects. This is mostly played for comedic effect, which is nice to see as this series tends to lean into the highly dramatic and mystery elements.

I’m a big fan of this series. It’s one of the few I would willingly buy the entire series of, and I hope it continues its high-octane storyline after this small diversion with the garden party.

Title: Moriarty: The Patriot (Volume 9)
Author: Ryōsuke Takeuchi
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
ISBN:  9781974720880

Three Descriptors: Re-imagining, Creative, Dark