The Infernal Device & Others: A Professor Moriarty Omnibus (103 page)

             
"Plantagenet!" Holmes said.

             
"That's the chap," Moriarty agreed. "Colonel Moran calls him the most dangerous man he's ever known. Likes to cut up prostitutes. I would suggest you make an effort to find him, or we'll be hearing from him in a way we won't like."

             
"I shall pass the word on," Holmes said. "Well,
adieu,
gentlemen." He clapped his hat on his head and turned to leave.

             
"Do come back and entertain us again sometime," Moriarty said. "Au
revoir,
Holmes."

             
"Beg pardon, sir," Mr. Maws said, as Holmes stalked by him. "A district messenger has just come with this." He held up an envelope. "It is addressed to Mr. Barnett."

             
Barnett grabbed it out of Mr. Maws's hand. It looked like—it was certain'y Cecily's handwriting. He ripped it open.

             
One word only on the stiff paper inside: Yes.

             
"Catch him, someone!" Moriarty called. "Help him to a chair. Mr. Maws, bring the brandy. I think the poor man needs a drink!"

* * * * * *

THE

INFERNAL DEVICE & OTHERS

Also by

Michael Kurland

The Professor Moriarty novels

The Infernal Device

Death by Gaslight

The Great Game

The Alexander Brass novels

Too Soon Dead

The Girls in the High-Heeled Shoes

THE

INFERNAL DEVICE

& OTHERS

A   P R O F E S S O R   M O R I A R T Y   O M N I B U S

.

M i c h a e l   K u r l a n d

ST. 
MARTIN'S
MINOTAUR
  
*
  
NEW
YORK

the infernal device and others: a professor Moriarty omnibus
.

Copyright © 2001 by Michael Kurland.
The Infernal Device
copyright © 1978;
Death by Gaslight
copyright © 1982;
The Paradol Paradox
copyright © 2001 by Michael Kurland.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

www.minotaurbooks.com

ISBN 0-312-25273-0

First Edition: August 2001

* * * * * *

Back cover

Since their original
appearance
more than two decades ago,
Michael
Kurland's two novels featuring Professor James Moriarty—
The Infernal Device
and
Death by Gaslight
—have been among the most acclaimed of the works based on the characters first introduced by Arthur Conan Doyle. In Doyle's original stories, Professor Moriarty is the bete noire of Sherlock Holmes, who deems the professor his mental equivalent and ethical opposite, declares him "the Napolean of Crime," and wrestles him seemingly to their mutual deaths at Reichenback Falls. But indeed there are two sides to every story, and while Moriarty may not always tread strictly on the side of the law, he is also, in these novels, not quite the person that Holmes and Watson made him out to be. In Kurland's fictions about Moriarty, the truth is finally revealed:

The Infernal Device
—A dangerous adversary seeking to topple the British monarchy places Moriarty in mortal jeopardy, forcing him to collaborate with his nemesis Sherlock Holmes.

Death by Gaslight
—A serial killer is stalking the cream of England's aristocracy, baffling both the police and Sherlock Holmes and leaving the powers in charge to play one last desperate card: Professor Moriarty.

The Paradol Paradox
—The first new Moriarty story in almost twenty years, it has never before appeared in print.

Brilliantly and vividly evoking late Victorian England in all its facets, this first-ever omnibus of the adventures of Professor James Moriarty will delight longtime fans as well as readers new to the milieu.

Michael Kurland
has written many nonfiction books on a vast array of topics, including,
How to Solve a Murder
, as well as several novels. Twice a finalist for the Edgar Award (once for
The Infernal Device
), presented by the Mystery Writers of America, Kurland is perhaps best known for his novels about Professor Moriarty. He lives in Petuluma, California.

Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein

Cover illustration by Jill Bauman

www.minotaurbooks.com

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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA