Mycroft Holmes

Publisher's Summary

"When I say, therefore, that [my brother] has better powers of observation than I...I am speaking the exact and literal truth." (Sherlock Holmes)

This story occurs when Mycroft, an athletic Cambridge graduate, assists the secretary of State. He becomes embroiled in a mystery in Trinidad based on actual history.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a huge Holmesian, seven-foot-two tall, basketball's all-time leading scorer, and a US cultural ambassador. Anna Waterhouse is a professional screenwriter and script consultant.

©2015 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Narrator Damian Lynch is a master of voices.... Lynch captures every voice and accent perfectly, making this an exceptional audio experience." ( AudioFile)

Finally a good Mycroft story!

Loved this young Mycroft and his first adventure afar that help develop him into the character he will be in the Sherlock Canon. Highly recommend to and Holmes fan. Reader is awsome and couldn't stop listening to the story.

53 of 55 people found this review helpful

A very good book

This story was fantastic . At first I thought it was crazy for this book to have been written by Jabbar .
However , once started I listened at every opportunity .
I am just simply impressed

53 of 56 people found this review helpful

He's ALIVE...

Bravo...Bravo Karem! I was disappointed that the book ended...I need more, please. Well written and very descriptive. I, like many, had not read a lot sbout Sherlock Holmes older brother, Mycroft Holmes...thank you for giving him breath...He's ALIVE...at least in my head and heart. Thanks again for such a great read. Looking forward to THEIR next great adventure.

Bravo Damian Lynch your narrative was outstanding. ..you brought the characters ALIVE.

42 of 45 people found this review helpful

Has All the Hallmarks of a First Book

Mycroft Holmes is a book made up of tropes, and poorly executed ones at that. I have two theories about how this book came to be. The first is that it's a marketing driven book; find someone famous to write it (Kareem Abdul Jabar), have them write a well known, public domain character (Holmes), and put a twist on it to make it new (write about Mycroft instead of Sherlock). The second is that Mr. Jabar wanted to write a book about Mycroft Holmes and his co-writer and editor were unwilling, unable or didn't care enough to fix all of the mistakes and clunky writing he produced.

Mycroft Holmes is a public domain character, and as such, anybody can write about him. However, there is some established canon around him, and an author would do well to pay attention to the most pertinent details of such. While I'm not sure this book would actually be improved by changing the main character's name, it would at least make expectations more manageable.

The writing is clunky, the characters' motivations are nonsensical, the deductions are crude and often tenuous, and the tropes are clichéd. The only thing that is any good is the narration, and even that gets muddled up sometimes when the narrator uses the wrong voice when a character is saying something.

All in all, a disappointment.

32 of 35 people found this review helpful

A Little Bit Disappointed

Don't get me wrong, there were aspects of the book that I really liked. The portrayal of Mycroft as a young man was enjoyable and believable, and much information about the locations and history (especially about slavery) was very interesting. And, although they never fully came to life for me, I found many of the secondary characters intriguing.

Yet I could not for the life of me get really involved in the story. So much information and background happened before anything really "happened" in the plot (if you know what I mean!) that I kept losing track of who people were and how they were fitting into the whole business.

Not sorry I invested a credit, but this was not one of my favorite listens.

64 of 74 people found this review helpful

A surprising take on the classics

I enjoyed this story. A bit unbelievable in parts but it was an easy listen.

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

More wild Wild West movie than Holmes

The first part of book is good, has a flavor of Holmes even including a 'Watson'. But the story starts having characters act unrealistically. No adequate reason is provided, worse Holmes goes through adventures that he becomes a pawn rather than prime mover. Almost stopped listening which is how bad the climax was. Being constantly beat up is not enough to carry the book.

43 of 50 people found this review helpful

TOO GOOD TO MISS!

Any additional comments?

This is a story of a young, manly Mycroft, in love and engaged, and happily developing his skillsin detection and espionage. Locationally, it stretches from Victorian England to colonial Jamaica, where he is aided by a native detective who brings to life the delicious thrills of voodoo, strange ghostly children and stories of them, and real physical threats and concerns.The narration, accents and voices are perfect. The scenes so well described they pop out at you. You can never be bored; it's very vivid!The resolution was a surprise to me; but when it occurs, the connections make sense, without deflating their presence or subtle contribution to the flow of the story.If you love the canon, this is one you will not want to do without! I do not know if Kareem AbdulJabbar (the 7ft. tall basketball player some time back) and his co writer are planning a sequelbut I hope they are, because I will read it!!!!

23 of 27 people found this review helpful

Wow! What? Wow! Awesome.

I loved this novel. So much fun! What a great story-twists, turns, history, and an excellent view of the times we've come from and how there is a solid line to the times we're in. I hope this is the first of several! Or even a Cyrus Douglass spin off! I'm all in!

18 of 21 people found this review helpful

The other Holmes brother

Nice to see a story about Mycroft! This was an excellent adventure and does a lot to bring in some back story for Mycroft- I'm looking forward to another installment!

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

so much better than I expected

I loved this book I only thought to read it to pass the time on a long drive but became so engrossed I turned it off so I could listen to properly it is well worth a read

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Mycroft Holmes

This book I really enjoyed! I felt the ghost of Conan Doyle weaving through it. I hope there will be many more from this new writer who I think will rise to the top with Mycroft, good luck, I will be watching for the next one🌟

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Slightly disappointed

The story was mostly fine, though I found some of the language early on to be a bit coarse against language from the numerous Sherlock stories I've read.

The narration was not great. Sometimes it felt that it was delivered with as much passion as the football scores.

Great ending

Good story with steady narration. Could have been s bit shorter, but the ending was the best. Not too sure what ACD would have thought of it though

Boring.

I have read most of the Sherlock related books and this is the worst. The constant racial theme begins to jar very quickly.

A really great listen

I liked the story, it flowed well. I do think there were similarities between this and Sherlock Holmes stories, but different enough to be distinct. The interplay between the two main characters, the forced relationship due to the difference in the colour of their skin, but their true friendship despite that, were intriguing. I'd definitely recommend this.

Painful

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

This is not the worse book I've ever listened to but it is close and I can not see why its got an even reasonable rating. It just sounds so forced and contrived .

Would you ever listen to anything by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse again?

For enough money I would do many things.

1 of 3 people found this review helpful