The other book I am reading is Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles by Kim Newman. As you can probably guess, this is a reworking of a bunch of Sherlock Holmes stories, as a pastiche, with each mystery solved by Moriarty, whose exploits parallel the equivalent in the original Conan Doyle. The stories are told by a lecherous and violent old soldier, a kind of anti-Watson, who is Moriarty's sidekick. He's a bit like Flashman. It's comic, which means that although the protagonist is thoroughly evil, the good tend to escape and the bad get their come-uppance.
It's really a very silly book, but I am enjoying it because it meets my needs for something light and undemanding. Famous characters appear, some are named, some you have to guess. For example the current story I am reading seems to feature Al Swearengen (not with that name, but with lots of swearing, 'eyebrows like horns' etc.) and his muscular bodyguard Desperado Daniel (with that name). That gives you an idea of the level. Anyway, it's just right for me at the moment.
