Moriarty the patriot vol 2 by RYŌSUKE TAKEUCHI

Illustrations by Hikaru Miyoshi
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Older brother Albert uncovers a plot to distribute opium to the masses, and proves his worth in discreetly taking out the organization without embarrassing any of the nobles who may be involved.  He is rewarded with an appointment to the head of a secret military organization, MI6.  William decides that the way they have been going about things has been too slow to affect change in the country, so he stages scene with a terrible noble in order to erode confidence in the nobility as a ruling class.  While on the ship setting the stage, William meets a curious individual whose power of deduction could prove useful in his plans.  The strange young man is none other than Sherlock Holmes.  The last third of this volume follows Sherlock in his quest to find a new flatmate, and we are introduced to the famous Dr. Watson.

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I was surprised to see Sherlock pop up so quickly in this series, but now that he's here, it's going to be interesting how the Moriarty brothers handle his involvement.  I hope the mangaka can blend the two stories a bit more because we lost everything happening with the brothers when we switched to Sherlock and Dr. Watson for the last 1/3rd of this story.  I'm also interested in seeing how the mangaka uses all three brothers against Sherlock.  I didn't realize until the character descriptions at the beginning of this novel that all three of them are technically James Moriarty: Albert James, William James, and Louis James. William is the criminal mastermind, but Sherlock could potentially have a three-pronged threat to deal with.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 11-12

This review was made possible with an advanced reader copy from the publisher through Edelweiss.

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: January 5, 2021
ISBN: 9781974719358 (Paperback)
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​Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Family, VIZ Media