Mycroft Holmes And The Banker's Conclave

Mycroft Holmes #4

by David Dickinson

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

A financial crisis, and a bank on the brink of ruin. The City of London, the great financial hub of the British Empire, stands on the edge of collapse. And yet, in the background, an attack on the City's lines of communication are making the matter worse.

Are dark forces at work?

Mycroft Holmes, the brother of the country's most famous detective, believes that they might be.

And in this thrilling novella, Mycroft has just a few hours to prove his theory correct - and to save the financial system from collapse.

Mycroft Holmes and The Bankers’ Conclave is the fourth book in David Dickinson’s brilliant series of novellas that started with 'Mycroft Holmes and the Adventure of the Silver Birches'.

Praise for David Dickinson

'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'.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Crime

60 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 23, 2012

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 account book 4 of 6

Mycroft Holmes and team are faced with the short fall of a bank leading to the call of the economy. It all comes to a happy ending.

I would recommend this series and author to 👍 fans of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes and readers of British 🏰 mystery novels 👍🔰. 2024

[JoAn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a novella regarding Mycroft Holmes ability to save a financial disaster for England. Apparently a German count with aid of rodents hoped to destroy England's standing in the free world. He uses his Irregulars to aid in his hunt for information.Using intimidation and manipulation he gathers bankers, brokers and insurance companies together to stave off the disaster. An easy read rather boring.

[sarah williams]

Too smart for me

I am not a math person. This was complicated and long winded, with almost no action at all. It was asking us to watch Mycroft brain work. Boring. If you're smart you'll like it.

[P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seems that while some financiers will come to the aid of their county, others won't, so the French come to the rescue. The reason for all this remains obscure.

[Pat Schager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muddle

Formulaic Holmes short story. Best of series so far. Good use of irregulars. Interesting rodent plot detail and plausible banking crisis.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

fourth book in the fun series

The books do not need to be read in order. This is the second book I have read. They are different than the Sherlock books but a fun read.

[Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finance sure is a difficult thing to grasp, so this was challenging to me.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A crisis in the banking community as Gorings will fail to met their financial obligations. Can Mycroft Holmes save the day.
Unfortunately I didn't find this story that interesting.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't have any expectations when I went into this. I was intrigued at the thought about a story about Mycroft since he is really a bit character in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Still, I wanted to learn more about the brother of Sherlock Holmes so I gave it a try, it also helped that it was free.

I have to say I thought this story was as dull as Mycroft is written. I always wondered just what he did for the British government, in this story he is an auditor for the government, not the secret agent he is hinted at in other stories. I knew that the story was going to be about a banking crisis, but I expected more mystery and intrigue to the story and less fundraising. For the most part this story revolves around Mycroft trying to raise money to save a bank.

The writing was very well done. There were similarities to the Doyle Cannon hen it came to the way Mycroft acted, you could see the "family relation" between Mycroft and Sherlock. I don't think I will be continuing the series but I will say that Dickinson does know what he is doing when it comes to writing. I just wasn't engaged in the Mycroft story.

[Sherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Sherlock Holmes in all his iterations, so I decided to read this one. It's all about a mystery in the banking industry and Mycroft (Holmes' brother) is London's minister of finance. A group of bankers need to keep a fellow banking institution from going under, or all will be lost, including the bank of England. There's scullduggery afoot of course from those who'd be fine if it all fell apart. A good tale, and I can make some comparisons to the recent collapse of wall street. Overall, however it is a little dry so I had to keep myself reading to the end.

[Kate Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another apt installment to the Mycroft series by David Dickinson. This time Mycroft, with Tobias at his side, takes on the Count in order to prevent a major London bank from collapse. However, as the novella goes on you realise there is more at play than just bad investments and is an influx of vermin in the city as random as it seems? Another excellent addition to the series, it is a shame that there isn't a Mycroft Holmes available to London banks today!

[Mike Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a 2012 copyright, this was perhaps more intended to be a statement of frustration with the egregious working of the banking industry than a "proper" crime mystery. Nonetheless, it features Mycroft Holmes as an elderly, sedentary and reluctant champion of justice who tracks down abuses in the world of high finance. It is a must-read for completists of near-Sherlock Holmes lore but I found it just a notch below Dickinson's usual level of mystery and intrigue.

[ShanDizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent story

Ths was an enjoyable, atmospheric, riveting good read. Mycroft comes alive in this series. I could smell his vulgar smelling cigarettes.

[Andrea Swinsco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another interesting plot, another well written story, but again another rushed through ending. Such a shame.