Kareem Abdul- Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse’s Mycroft Holmes is a character study and intriguing mystery that may soon find a place in the Sherlock Holmes canon.
Mycroft Holmes knows the streets and habits of those residing in London operate like clockwork. He is a prominent man in the British Secretary of State’s office, the older brother of a scrappy student, and in love. But when his best friend Cyrus Douglas becomes distressed by news of missing children in Trinidad, Holmes takes a journey to see what is going on firsthand.
Mysterious backwards footprints and children drained of all their blood sets the game afoot, but there are many more secrets buried on the shores that stretch all the way back to the Crown. Seeped in history and dialogue that mirrors Doyle’s style, Mycroft Holmes invites readers to meet the man who would soon shape the world in which Sherlock lives and works.
‘Mycroft Homes’ Review
Before the golden age of Sherlock Holmes in London, another Holmes with a superior mind jumped around town sorting out minor oddities. Mycroft Holmes blows a hole in Doyle’s canon to make room for the brother who may have taught his younger brother a thing or two.
But wait, didn’t this author play basketball? Isn’t he the guy who taught Uncle Jessie to sink a free throw on Full House? Kareem Abdul Jabbar is not only an NBA legend, he is also a massive Sherlock Holmes fan. The mystery that Abdul Jabbar and Waterhouse build from local myth to government scandal is enticing and unpredictable, keeping readers guessing what mess Mycroft will find himself in next. It also sets up an entire backstory that explains how Mycroft Holmes became the man in the pocket of the British Crown when Sherlock comes onto the scene.
The mystery at the center of Mycroft Holmes proves to be just as thrilling and full of twists as if Sherlock himself were on the case. For all the modern retellings of the Holmes brothers and Sherlock’s adventures, the choice to not only set the story in the late 1800s, but mimicking the voice of Doyle is refreshing. The partnership and friendship between Douglas and Holmes is well-developed and one that you will grow to care about deeply as the story unfolds.
The backstory constructed for Mycroft Holmes by Abdul Jabbar and Waterhouse is sure to earn a place in the early canon of the Holmes brothers’ tales. Fans of Doyle’s original tales will take more pleasure in Mycroft Holmes than those who enjoy more modern retellings of the Holmes brothers.
Holmes and Douglas’ journey from England to Trinidad is familiar to the tales of Holmes and Watson, but Mycroft comes into his own character and not merely a shadow of the brother we all know and love. At times Mycroft’s oddities are frustratingly similar to Sherlock, however Mycroft Holmes breathes life into the character that could have easily shaped the Sherlock Holmes Doyle penned into existence.
Mycroft Holmes will be available from Amazon, Indiebound, and Barnes and Noble September 22.