Mycroft Holmes: 10/25/17

Mycroft Holmes, the older brother of Sherlock Holmes is a character who sits on the sidelines except to either help Sherlock, annoy him, or get him into international trouble. Mycroft is everything Sherlock isn't: a professional with the ear of the queen. He's also willing to sell out his brother in an instant if it's good for the empire.

Most books though follow with the original stories and make Mycroft a secondary character. Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse, does just the opposite. Mycroft, still new in his career, with young Sherlock still in school, is pulled into a conspiracy involving murdered children, missing people, and other odd things in Trinidad.

Young Mycroft is a lot like young Sherlock as portrayed in the film of the same name. Except Mycroft is already more worldly and more sure of himself. That said, an oversees trip will be like nothing he's ever done before.

Who then has power over Mycroft? A young black man named Cyrus Douglas. His fiancée brings the troubling news from home. When she abruptly leaves London for Trinidad, the two men follow.

So often when a mystery is set in a Caribbean island, the go-to plot device is voodoo. Not here. Oh sure, it's made to look like something supernatural is afoot but the plot is really more akin to The Hound of the Baskervilles, just set somewhere else. That was a refreshing twist.

The plotting is intricate. The characters are fleshed out. There's enough here to keep you guessing, but not so much that you'll get lost in the process.

Five stars

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