Mycroft Holmes (Hard Case Crime) (Mycroft Holmes, #1)

by Anna Waterhouse and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Fresh out of university, the young Mycroft Holmes is already making a name for himself in government. Yet this most British of civil servants has strong ties to Trinidad, the birthplace of his best friend, Cyrus Douglas, and where his fiancee Georgiana Sutton was raised.Mycroft's comfortable existence is overturned when Douglas receives troubling reports from home, rumors of spirits enticing children to their deaths. Upon hearing the news, Georgiana abruptly departs for the island. Mycroft convinces Douglas that they should follow her, drawing the two men into a web of dark secrets that grows more treacherous with each step they take...

• ISBN10: 1783291540
• ISBN13: 9781783291540
• Publish Date: 7 June 2016 (first published 25 September 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Titan Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781783291540

Reviews

[Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub]

My husband found this for me at the library. I almost didn’t read it, once I realized that it was written by an athlete: that would have been a mistake. It was an enjoyable book, one that flies by because it’s so much fun.

This book is, as the title suggests, about Mycroft, Sherlock’s older brother. In fact, Sherlock appears in this book for less than five pages. I really liked that. Mycroft was written as a slightly less analytical, but more emotional genius and wasn’t overshadowed by the more well-known Sherlock.

In this book, Mycroft stumbles across a series of murders that seem to involve his fiance in some way. He travels to Trinidad with his best friend, Douglas, in an attempt to track her down and get to the bottom of things.

I loved Douglas. He was wise and long-suffering, without in any way being a Watson rip-off. In fact, this whole book walked the fine line between being an homage and being a copy with ease. It was a wholly original book.

My biggest complaint about it is that it rapidly switched from being a mystery to being an adventure novel. If I had gone into it knowing that it wasn’t going to be a mystery, I would have liked it more. Now that I have a better idea what to expect, I’m happily planning on reading the sequel, Mycroft and Sherlock.

The historical aspects of the book were well researched, the descriptions of the various places were vivid, and the story was fun. It was a fun addition to the Sherlock Holmes pastiche.

https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2019/01/08/mycroft-holmes-by-kareem-abdul-jabbar-and-anna-waterhouse/

[meowstina]

I received an advance reader’s copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I know this isn’t the same thing at all, but as a fan of the show Sherlock I was very curious to go on an adventure with a new perspective from this universe: his older brother, Mycroft. I did read A Study in Scarlet, so I am familiar with Doyle’s Sherlock and universe, but I cannot help but think of the show. It’s brilliant. This book is neither of the two, though. Written by two current authors, this is a story of Mycroft Holmes, his best friend Cyrus, a deceitful woman, and a dangerous investigation in Trinidad.

Mycroft has both similarities and differences to Sherlock in this novel. They’re both inquisitive, deductive, and sharp, but Mycroft has a bit more humanity in him. He cares about others’ well-being and is an unashamed romantic. In this story he is twenty-three, so these traits may be chalked up to innocence and youth, but nonetheless they make for a fresh perspective from the Holmes family. A very young and fiesty Sherlock does make a few appearances, but the main stars are Mycroft and Cyrus. Their journey takes many twists and turns, and the stakes become very, very high in their quest for fairness.

The book is written quite well. Though every so often I would long for more stimulation, for the most part it moves at a steady pace. Though the main draw of the book is Mycroft Holmes, issues of race and class during the time period are also explored, which is very refreshing and important. Race discrimination plays a huge part in the book, and even though it unfortunately fits with the time period, it’s challenged and pointed out instead of glazed over.

If you like adventure, mystery, and are looking for someone less cold and more deep than Sherlock, this story fits the bill.