Mycroft Holmes and the Adventure of the Silver Birches

Mycroft Holmes #1

by David Dickinson

'The stories are atmospheric, fast-moving, ingenious and very enjoyable.' - Roger Johnson, The District Messenger

Inspector Lestrade was a worried man. He was facing the biggest case of his career. The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and the Governor of the Bank of England had learnt through a variety of sources – a private bank in Vienna, an Anglophile moneylender in Munich, a reliable tip off from the Casino in Monte Carlo – that Britain’s enemies were trying to debase the currency. Sherlock Holmes has retired to keep his bees in Sussex, Dr Watson is curing the sick. So Lestrade turns to Holmes’s elder brother Mycroft, still keeping to his unchanging routine between his rooms in Pall Mall, the Government Offices where he audits all Government Departments, and the silent quarters of the Diogenes Club. Mycroft tracks the gang through the banks and Treasuries of Europe, his brain travelling faster than the swiftest express train.

Will Mycroft and Lestrade solve the mystery? And who is the mysterious stranger who led them to the gang’s hiding place and then vanished, last seen striding rapidly into the fog?

David Dickinson’s brilliant new short novel will appeal to fans of Sherlock Holmes, of detective fiction, and of historical mysteries. It recreates the style and atmosphere of the original stories, but with a compelling new character. The first in a news series, it will establish Mycroft as a worthy successor to his more famous brother.

Praise for David Dickinson

'One of the story’s strengths is the portrait it paints of Mycroft, a picture rich with details about his lifestyle, habits, and associates...mystery itself is straightforward and fast-paced...provides new perspectives to enjoy' - Baker Street Babes Podcast

'A cracking yarn, beguilingly real from start to finish... you have to pinch yourself to remind you that it is fiction - or is it?' - Peter Snow

'This is detective fiction in the grand style; the characters and the plot soar upwards and carry us in their wake. Powerscourt's debut in this intoxicating book is the start of a gilded life in the archives of crime.' - James Naughtie

'In this excellent novel, Dickinson weaves a tale of blackmail and murder among the royals late in Victoria's reign... One hopes to see more of Lord Powerscourt and his friends in the near future.' - Publishers Weekly

David Dickinson is the best-selling author of the Lord Powerscourt series of historical mysteries, including Death of a Pilgrim and Death of an Old Master.

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction

41 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 8, 2011

About the author

David Dickinson was born in Dublin. With an honours degree in Classics from Cambridge, David Dickinson joined the BBC, where he became editor of Newsnight and Panorama, as well as series editor for Monarchy, a three-part programme on the British royal family.

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🎵

This kindle e-book novella is from my Kindle Unlimited book 1 of 6

I am a Sherlock Holmes fan and enjoy stories about his brother Mycroft Holmes.

I would recommend this series and author to fans of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. 2024

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Dickinson brilliantly recreates the style of the original stories in this excellent novella. Mycroft Holmes was always a character in the Sherlock books, but here comes vividly to life. Excellent stuff.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspector Lestrade was a worried man. He was facing the biggest case of his career. The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and the Governor of the Bank of England had learnt that Britain’s enemies were trying to debase the currency. Sherlock Holmes has retired to keep his bees in Sussex, Dr Watson is curing the sick. So Lestrade turns to Holmes’s elder brother Mycroft, still keeping to his unchanging routine between his rooms in Pall Mall, the Government Offices where he audits all Government Departments, and the silent quarters of the Diogenes Club.Will Mycroft and Lestrade solve the mystery?
David Dickinson’s brilliant new short novel recreates the style and atmosphere of the original stories, but with a compelling new character. The first in a news series. It is a cracking good tale, detective fiction in the grand style.

[Malorie (Firereader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this is very similar and also very different than the traditional Sherlock Holmes novels. I think the magic of the Sherlock stories was how eccentric he was and his incredible deductions. He would move constantly on the hunt collecting data. Mycroft, Sherlock's brother, is the detective of this book. He has the same deductive brain as Sherlock but Mycroft is boring and has always been boring so the author definitely captured him correctly. Mycroft is a very tubby stationary man who likes to stay at home or in his office across the street. He is not very adventures by any means. But his method works for him and he solves the case just like Sherlock.

For the first in the Mycroft series it's not bad. It definitely feels like a continuation of the Holmes universe and not an attempt at cashing in on the Sherlock dynasty. I will read the next one and see if Mycroft encounters something a little more fast paced and interesting.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holmes Detects Again

It's always fun to find another well-written Holmes patisch and this story fits the bill. We find Sherlock's elder brother, Mycroft, engaged in preventing the collapse of the British economy and marshalling all the forces at his command, as well as his immense mental powers in the pursuit of yet another arch villain. Will truth, justice, and the British way of life prevail?

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

First in an excellent series around Mycroft

There is large amounts of high quality bank note counterfeit spreading across England. As Mycroft starts to dig into this he realizes that this is being done on a mass scale. The action picks up with lots of twists and turns and a surprise ending. A fun read.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashcroft and Sherlock together again!

I liked the way Mycroft set up the final end of the story; but I didn't like the way the story ended. How did Sherlock become involved? What happened to that Graf person?

[Myra Stephens · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a novel

This is not a novel. This is a short story and an enormous disappointment as the writing is somewhat reminiscent of Doyle. The ending is the equivalent of a cheap parlour trick.

[Danny Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silver Birches Makes for a Good Holmesian Adventure

Familiar characters are woven into a very Holmesian tale. As a short story, it didn’t try too hard, which was a positive. Enjoyed reading it, and look forward to reading the next in the series.

[K134750 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Read!

I enjoyed the Mycroft point of view of solving the case with what you know. I truly enjoyed and was pleased with the expected surprise at the end. I would recommend this book if you’re traveling via plane or spending a splendid day at the beach this summer.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love them I 'm book 3 now.

[Pat Schager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mycroft

A short story about Mycroft Holmes and forgery. Many questions left unanswered. Lestrade is not very sharp. Maybe the second book will be better.

[Cathy A. Maples · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

An Interesting take on the Holmes mysteries. I enjoyed it and will probably read more in this series. Good first dip!

[Sallie Wood · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great book

Great story. great characters. I would definitely recommend the book and series.My favorite charactersis Mycroft an Lastrade.I love the book.

[PortCityDeDe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Surprising Thrill

The story stayed true to the original Holmes. I look forward to the remaining books in the series. A great short story.

[J.D. Schechter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The game's afoot...

Almost Sherlockian, but missed Conan Doyle by a bit... even if the younger Holmes does make an appearance. The villain is, however, not quite up to snuff

[Kelly Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was a book but it’s really a short story. I’ve read better Mycroft stories.

[NESKA · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75 💥💥💥

[Richard Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

Seems like an outline of a novel. Needs to be fleshed out. There is the essence of a good read here.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mycroft Holmes is concerned as someone is trying to debase the British currency. Can one of the Holmes brothers solve the case and capture the mastermind behind it.
Enjoyable story

[Frank Carver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but also disappointing.

The character of Mycroft Holmes has often intrigued me. We don’t learn much about him from the Holmes canon, so I was looking forward to reading a book which explored this mysterious character in his own right. Sadly, by the end I was somewhat disappointed by the whole thing. It had the feel of a missed opportunity. The book is relatively short at around 14,000 words. That’s not a bad thing if those words are used well, but in this case the shortness of the story seemed constraining rather than inspiring. Rather than showing a fascinating dive into the complex life of a man with a finger in every government pie, we get a tale in which Mycroft seems just a substitute, brought on to fill the absence of his more well-known brother, Sherlock.

The story begins with Lestrade facing a problem which he would normally take to the younger of the Holmes brothers, but Sherlock has retired to tend his bees. Despite little evidence that Lestrade and Mycroft have ever worked together, he decides that one Holmes would be as good as another. We then meet Mycroft who has, for no obvious reason, taken on Mrs Hudson as his housekeeper, making him appear even more like the slot-in replacement for Sherlock. Luckily, the problem turns out to be one of national importance, suited t o Mycroft’s approach, and we embark on a journey of discovery in which we encounter missing persons, forged banknotes, a trio of estate agents, a mysterious Graf and an old lady with familiar hands. Despite his best intentions, Mycroft is even lured out of his comfortable rooms to attend a police raid.

The mystery at the heart of the story is solid enough, and well suited to the character of Mycroft, but I wanted more of the main character, and for him to come across as the fiercely intelligent, devious, and manipulative force that he should be. Instead we get a story which is very much like a Sherlock Holmes case in all but name. Why does it need the stolid Lestrade to inform Mycroft that things are amiss? How is he able to devote his time fully to one investigation, however important? Why don’t we get any more insight into his life than the annoyingly repetitive reminder that he likes to eat Turkish Delight, attends the Diogenes club, and has a flaky scalp? Why does Mycroft name-drop a bunch of Sherlock’s cases and antagonists?

Part of the problem, I think, is that there is no equivalent to Sherlock’s chronicler Watson. The story is told from a third-person viewpoint, but with no conjecture as to the thinking or the significance of Mycroft’s actions. We just watch as he does things. This leads this book to feel somewhat dry compared to the Sherlock Holmes stories. Lestrade is there for some of the tale to ask some of these questions for us, but there is no real feeling of engagement, and even less evidence which makes this seem like a definitive Mycroft story.

I have seen that there are others in this series. I liked this one enough that I will try some more to see if the author gets a better grip on the character and style of Mycroft as a driving force of his own rather than just a side character in Sherlock’s world, but I can’t help being saddened by the wasted opportunities.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Mycroft Holmes and the Adventure of the Silver Birches" by David Dickinson is the first in his series of novellas on Sherlock's less famous, but uber intelligent brother. Regardless of your knowing Mycroft and his background or not, this is a very good story which captures the very style of Doyle's original stories. Dickinson's ability to capture the local color of Victorian England is excellent. His use of sense imagery brings out the very smells and sounds of 19th century London. The plot is tightly done which leads the reader to a good conclusion, although the ending was perhaps a bit abrupt.

Dickinson's characterization is excellent as his characters are rounded out and not simply a stereoytpe in most cases. His characterization of Mycroft Holmes is very faithful to Doyle's. Our old friend Inspector Lestrade is nicely developed, as is his dogged, basic police work. Mycroft is more fully developed than he was by Doyle, which is to be expected; Mycroft's subtler reasoning and problem solving skills are nicely contrasted with Lestrade as well as Sherlock himself. If you are are fan of Sherlock Holmes - or even of Mycroft or the style of Doyle - this is a fun quick read.

[Kate Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short - but smart and fun - e-book from Endeavour Press is a brilliant read, perfect for a Christmas journey. The character of Mycroft Holmes is faithful to Conan Doyle, but the author makes him his own creation too. One can read this book even if unfamilar with the original Sherlock Holmes stories, although there are nice touches of wit and style for fans too.
David Dickinson, author of the Lord Powerscourt mysteries, has already proved his crime/mystery writing skills and The Adventures of Mycroft Holmes lives up to expectations. Hopefully, there will be more adventures to follow.

[Craig Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this whilst looking for Holmes horror stories whilst on holiday. I really liked how Mycroft was handled in Bernice Summerfield and the Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel and Ms Wildthyme and Friends Investigate and thought at the time some solo adventures might work well. The author has done a pretty good job. The adventure fits within the original description of Mycroft's physical and mental nature. It's really short though, similar in length to a single case from one of the Holmes anthologies. Worth a read and there's loads in the series too if you like them.

[LAWRENCE GILSDORF · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever short story

The Mycroft character is well designed to be related to Sherlock. This is a very short story which is very disappointing. Normally I would not recommend or purchase... But I'm a sucker for all things Holmes.

[P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A vast, nearly unimaginable conspiracy, with Mycroft, this might be a side-effect of his genius. the downside so to speak, behaving like a spoiled kid. A good enough read, even if you wish he'd just grow up.