The House of Silk
Anthony Horowitz
 The House of Silk begins with a brief, personal recounting of events by Watson, much like the Study in Scarlet by the original author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The reader is informed of the particulars regarding the first meeting of Watson and Holmes, including the circumstances of the Afghan War and a mention of the case that was "too shocking to be revealed until now." The client of The Flat Cap case is introduced as a man by the name of Edmund Carstairs, an art dealer whose paintings were destroyed by a gang of Irish robbers. After the murder of the man's own client, and a failure on the part of a hired detective, he turns to Sherlock Holmes who employs the aid of the Baker Street Irregulars, and upon locating the hotel wherein the supposed Keelan O'Donaghue (one of the leaders of the gang) is currently staying, one of the newest recruit of the Irregulars, a boy named Ross, is stationed to wait outside until Holmes, Watson, and Mr. Carstairs arrive. When the group finally arrives, Ross appears inexplicably horror-stricken and is later found brutally murdered by thugs of the House of Silk. It is revealed that Mrs. Carstairs is the true person responsible for The Flat Cap case, being the second leader of the Irish gang. When Holmes makes inroads with the House of Silk case, he is framed for murder and sent to prison. Meanwhile, Watson meets with Professor Moriarty, who provides him a key to free Holmes from prison, for fear that the detective will be assassinated. Professor Moriarty's motives are uncertain, except that he wishes Holmes to rid the world of the House of Silk. When Watson arrives at the prison, he discovers Holmes has escaped of his own accord, disguised as an aide to the prison doctor he once had as a client. Various leads draw them to a traveling carnival, where they are ambushed, albeit saved by Lestrade. The party (Holmes, Watson, Lestrade) makes their way to the "House of Silk", a club operated by a pastor and his wife who also govern a boy's orphanage and rent the boys to wealthy customers. The members are promptly rounded up by the Scotland Yard. Despite their arrests, however, the case does not come to trial, due to a royal family member having been purportedly involved.