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I just finished Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse (Damian Lynch, narrator). For those of us for whom the name Mycroft conjures up a member of the smoke-filled Diogenes Club where men of like mind go to sit in silence while completely ignoring all other members, this book is quite a departure. I features a 23-year-old Mycroft whose younger brother is still in college and not yet living at 221 Baker Street. Mycroft is in love and has his future with his fiancee completely mapped out when she suddenly leaves for her home in Trinidad under mysterious circumstances with instructions for him not to attempt to follow her. His ignoring of that advice ultimately leads to an overseas journey where he takes up arms against ex-Confederate officers who are attempting to reestablish slavery away from American soil. This is story of love, strong emotions, and adventure; everything we've come not to expect from Sherlock's sedentary older brother. It was very enjoyable, but even though the Mycroft at the novel's end is far removed from the innocent dreamer we meet in the beginning, it was still hard to reconcile this gregarious man of action with the Mycroft Holmes we meet in the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle.
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