I am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and so it was with excitable interest that I travelled down to the London Piccadilly branch of Waterstone’s earlier this week to pick up a limited edition copy of ‘The House of Silk’ – Anthony Horowitz’s new re-imagining of the famous detective.

I won’t go into why Horowitz was chosen to write the first authorised non-Conan-Doyle Sherlock Holmes story – you can read that here. Instead, I’d like to focus on the book’s production values and whether it warrants its ‘special edition’ tag.

Unusually, Orion, the book’s publishers, struck a deal with Waterstone’s that saw them print 12,000 editions of ‘The House of Silk’ for exclusive use by the bookseller. 212 (no prizes for knowing the reason they arrived at that particular figure) of these were numbered, stamped with the book’s publication date, and signed by Horowitz. After paying £18.99(!), I got number 31.

The publishers also decided to include an original Conan Doyle story along with a letter from Horowitz at the rear of the book. More bang for your buck!

Firstly, I think it is a cracking design. The typography works really well with the cover and the red embossed button stating the book’s approval by the Conan Doyle estate is a clever touch. The dimpled dust jacket is satisfyingly thick and contrasts well against the blood red inlay.

If I had one complaint it is that for £18.99 I would have liked a small design, if only the book’s title on the front cover of the hardback itself, and gold instead of silver text down the spine. That’s a small gripe though for what is, overall, a very solid and worthwhile limited edition.

Some unscrupulous readers are even taking advantage of that fact with a few already appearing on eBay (here and here). I won’t be selling mine though as I asked Horowitz to write a particular message in my copy. Something to wind Mrs P. up about…

Waterstone’s intend to sell a 222nd limited edition copy (the 221b version) for charity. What is also interesting is that Orion are publishing a further 200 leather-bound special editions later this year which will retail at £221 each. I don’t know just how yet, but I plan to get my hands on one!

The book itself is wonderfully written. Horowitz has managed to match Conan Doyle’s gift of prose, tone and pace perfectly. The story-telling is brisk and makes perfect reading for a fan of the original stories and I’ve no doubt that young newcomers, seduced by Horowitz’s Alex Rider creation, will find much to like in the characters of Holmes and Watson. Indeed, the clever inclusion of ‘The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans, one of Conan Doyle’s best Sherlock Holmes stories, and Horowitz’s note on his love of the canon are a stroke of genius. Not only do they add weight, in both senses, to the book but they also introduce the adventures of Holmes and Watson, something which I’m sure will see new legions of fans flock to discover the originals.