Mycroft Holmes is a match in intellect for his brother. This is the story of how Mycroft became the power he was. He follows the thinnest of trails to find his love and the truth to the man behind the money. Good plot, interesting twist on the brothers relationship. ( )

Marvelous writing, Historical detail adds intrigue, Kareems tip of his hat for "his lifelong appreciation of Sir Arthur Canon Doyle ( )

As a fan of both apocryphal (aka fan) fiction and mysteries, and someone whose attention is piqued by curiosities, how could I not pick this up during my first visit to a bookstore in over 10 months? A Sherlock Holmes fan fiction penned by the most unlikely writer: basketball star (and, it turns out, scholar of literature and history) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! And I must say, not that I was expecting it to be bad, but it was a pleasant surprise. Sherlock is actually a side character in this inaugural volume of a new series, which actually revolves around Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's G-man older brother. I don't know how prominently Mycroft figures in the original Conan Doyle stories, but I have seen him depicted as a pretty major figure in Sherlock's life, in other adaptations. This story takes place early in his government career (Sherlock is at college), and he is preparing to wed, and kicking around with his Black friend Douglas, the tobacconist. I always find it interesting to see how authors deal with race in historical fiction, because it seems hard to know just how racialized people got along in other times. This novel is set in 1870, when things were still very raw for people of African descent, with the abolition of slavery barely in the rearview in most places. Douglas seems to get along all right -- he's a strong person, but he knows when to duck his head and say nothing, to avoid unpleasantness. Not so different than it is today, sadly. Anyway, Mycroft follows his Caribbean-born (white) fiancee to Trinidad, where she was called to deal with some disturbing events -- and finds himself embroiled in quite another sort of situation. Slavery rears its ugly head, along with some nefarious deeds involving government officials and even royalty. But, Mycroft proves himself his brother's deductive equal, and finds his way out of things through intellect and reasoning, along with a hefty dose of derring-do. This was a well-paced and well-written tale, and I will definitely return to Mycroft's world. ( )

Very enjoyable! I will be interested to see what more comes out of this partnership. ( )

3 stars

I enjoyed it, but wasn’t wowed by this tale of Sherlock Holmes’ older brother, Mycroft.

From the outset, I thought there would be a bit more spookiness of these “douen” and “lougarou”, á la The Hounds of Baskervilles. In truth, they play a very small part.

I enjoyed the exposition, which I didn’t find as wordy as the original Holmes stories, but it did feel as if there was too much happening all over the plot, and the initial hook (these scary mythical creatures that seek to kill children) wasn’t given its full due.

This was my first foray into reading a book inspired of the world of Sherlock Holmes. I do think the essence of the characters Doyle created was respected, and seeing things from the perspective of a prequel for Mycroft was interesting. I noted that my local library does have a copy of the next book available, so I will give this Holmes universe another shot.

Also, the other MC in this book is a tall, regal looking a black man, and I, of course, could only picture Kareem Abdul-Jabarr as the character of Cyrus Douglas. I’m interested in seeing whether Douglas is brought back in the next book. ( )