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Mycroft Holmes and Sherlock #3
Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage
The new novel by NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, starring brothers Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes.
It is 1873, and Mycroft Holmes is in service to the Crown once again. A distant relative of Queen Victoria has been slain by the Fire Four Fifteen killer, a serial murderer who leaves no mark upon his victims. Mycroft allows Sherlock to take the case, as he has been asked to find a missing person--the fiancé of the woman he loves. As Sherlock travels the country on the hunt for a murderer, both he and Mycroft will discover that the greed of others is at the root of the evil they are trying to unearth...
It is 1873, and Mycroft Holmes is in service to the Crown once again. A distant relative of Queen Victoria has been slain by the Fire Four Fifteen killer, a serial murderer who leaves no mark upon his victims. Mycroft allows Sherlock to take the case, as he has been asked to find a missing person--the fiancé of the woman he loves. As Sherlock travels the country on the hunt for a murderer, both he and Mycroft will discover that the greed of others is at the root of the evil they are trying to unearth...
329 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2019
269 people are currently reading
1717 people want to read
About the author
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
54 books643 followersAs a center for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1975 to 1989, American basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, originally Lew Alcindor, led the all-time scores in history of national basketball association in 1984.
This former professional player current serves as assistant coach. Typically referred to as Lew Alcindor in his younger days, he changed his name when he converted to Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_...
This former professional player current serves as assistant coach. Typically referred to as Lew Alcindor in his younger days, he changed his name when he converted to Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 317 reviews
October 12, 2019
I really enjoyed about 80% of the book, but towards the end, I kept thinking, wait, that can't be all. Beyond the completely mystifying headstands in the garret (I get the point of them but could not for the life of me decipher what was actually going on while reading their depiction,) I was annoyed by what short shrift the apprehension of the serial killer earned. There was so much rich, exciting material in the lead up to the solution of this case that for the book to end as abruptly as it did felt odd and unearned, never mind that completely unnecessary letter at the end.
Of that rich, exciting material: Mycroft Holmes is hiding his health issues from his loved ones while also pursuing a personal vendetta against a hated nobleman. During the course of this latter, an acquaintance asks Mycroft for help in locating his abruptly vanished prospective son-in-law. Bingwen Shi is the scion of a noble Chinese family, who happened to be working with a known international arms dealer. Ordinarily, Mycroft would think nothing of assisting, but Bingwen Shi's intended is Ai Lin, the beautiful, spirited woman he secretly pines for himself.
To further muddle his emotions is the return of his incorrigible younger brother from Cambridge. Sherlock has become obsessed with the so-called Fire Four Eleven serial killer, who seems to choose his victims at random and leave no trace besides a calling card with those three words on it. In fact, no one would even guess that the deaths were anything but natural and unrelated were it not for said calling cards. Mycroft tries to discourage his brother from putting himself in danger but when the next victim proves to be a relation to the queen, he must reluctantly allow them both to get involved.
So this will be the kind of story that aficionados of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's more exotic solutions will enjoy. I'm mostly iffy on those, but think Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse did a decent job of grounding their plot devices in reality while still painting with Sir Conan Doyle's palette. I do think they could have done more with telling us the background of the killer instead of just scattering the various hints over the last few chapters. I don't think we ever actually find out his name, for example. Not that it matters, in the grand scheme of things, but it seems like an odd oversight.
One thing I did very much enjoy and hope to read more of was the burgeoning friendship between Sherlock and Huan. Huan already feels like a much more useful sidekick than Watson, though the former's steadying influence is likely far more necessary on a young, rash Sherlock than the good doctor will have to exert some years in the future. It was also really nice to see the dynamic between Sherlock and Mycroft from the latter's perspective. Sherlock is insufferable, as always, and Mycroft's concern for him understandably verges into scolding, even as Mycroft's own personal proclivities begin to calcify. Our authors absolutely shine in the way they hint at the canon they're writing towards with this series. I didn't enjoy this installment quite as much as I did Book Two, but I am very much looking forward to reading more.
Of that rich, exciting material: Mycroft Holmes is hiding his health issues from his loved ones while also pursuing a personal vendetta against a hated nobleman. During the course of this latter, an acquaintance asks Mycroft for help in locating his abruptly vanished prospective son-in-law. Bingwen Shi is the scion of a noble Chinese family, who happened to be working with a known international arms dealer. Ordinarily, Mycroft would think nothing of assisting, but Bingwen Shi's intended is Ai Lin, the beautiful, spirited woman he secretly pines for himself.
To further muddle his emotions is the return of his incorrigible younger brother from Cambridge. Sherlock has become obsessed with the so-called Fire Four Eleven serial killer, who seems to choose his victims at random and leave no trace besides a calling card with those three words on it. In fact, no one would even guess that the deaths were anything but natural and unrelated were it not for said calling cards. Mycroft tries to discourage his brother from putting himself in danger but when the next victim proves to be a relation to the queen, he must reluctantly allow them both to get involved.
So this will be the kind of story that aficionados of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's more exotic solutions will enjoy. I'm mostly iffy on those, but think Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse did a decent job of grounding their plot devices in reality while still painting with Sir Conan Doyle's palette. I do think they could have done more with telling us the background of the killer instead of just scattering the various hints over the last few chapters. I don't think we ever actually find out his name, for example. Not that it matters, in the grand scheme of things, but it seems like an odd oversight.
One thing I did very much enjoy and hope to read more of was the burgeoning friendship between Sherlock and Huan. Huan already feels like a much more useful sidekick than Watson, though the former's steadying influence is likely far more necessary on a young, rash Sherlock than the good doctor will have to exert some years in the future. It was also really nice to see the dynamic between Sherlock and Mycroft from the latter's perspective. Sherlock is insufferable, as always, and Mycroft's concern for him understandably verges into scolding, even as Mycroft's own personal proclivities begin to calcify. Our authors absolutely shine in the way they hint at the canon they're writing towards with this series. I didn't enjoy this installment quite as much as I did Book Two, but I am very much looking forward to reading more.
September 29, 2019
As a lifelong fan of the original Sherlock Holmes, I am picky about Holmesian tales written by anyone who isn't Conan Doyle. This series of Holmes stories, co-authored by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse fit neatly into the original cast of characters and their personalities. The prose is similar in style to the original stories and maintains the same feeling of time and place.
The Empty Birdcage is the third in this ongoing series featuring Mycroft and Sherlock in their early years. I found the first two amazing and truly enjoyed this one, although by comparison with the first two, it was a bit less in-depth -- not enough to prevent enjoyment of the reading experience -- just a little bit less of a dash of spice found in the first two titles.
The Empty Birdcage is the third in this ongoing series featuring Mycroft and Sherlock in their early years. I found the first two amazing and truly enjoyed this one, although by comparison with the first two, it was a bit less in-depth -- not enough to prevent enjoyment of the reading experience -- just a little bit less of a dash of spice found in the first two titles.
August 19, 2021
Okay. What happened to the ending? Two plot lines and both end like someone texted you a spoiler of the ending.
February 27, 2023
3.5 stars
After the excellent predecessor to this novel, this one suffers by comparison.
There are two plots here, quite different, one for each brother. The books holds together well around plot lines for the brothers’ relationships with each other and with others in their circles. Keeping significant secrets from each other and each doing all they can to manipulate each other, this is the storyline to follow.
Sherlock works on a savage serial murder case. It’s a good depiction of Sherlock stumbling through learning his budding occupation. The investigation itself was stuffed with bodies and clues but short on pacing.
Mycroft is embroiled in a Chinese intrigue that impacts him personally but that I found confusing and patchy. The storyline that he shares with his friend is more interesting and highlights the sensitivity and awkwardness of their relationship and the friend’s experience of bigotry and worse.
There’s a lot going on here, and some of it works a lot better than other parts.
After the excellent predecessor to this novel, this one suffers by comparison.
There are two plots here, quite different, one for each brother. The books holds together well around plot lines for the brothers’ relationships with each other and with others in their circles. Keeping significant secrets from each other and each doing all they can to manipulate each other, this is the storyline to follow.
Sherlock works on a savage serial murder case. It’s a good depiction of Sherlock stumbling through learning his budding occupation. The investigation itself was stuffed with bodies and clues but short on pacing.
Mycroft is embroiled in a Chinese intrigue that impacts him personally but that I found confusing and patchy. The storyline that he shares with his friend is more interesting and highlights the sensitivity and awkwardness of their relationship and the friend’s experience of bigotry and worse.
There’s a lot going on here, and some of it works a lot better than other parts.
November 2, 2019
Ah man, this was a let down. I really dug the book preceding this (haven't read the first in the series yet), but Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse might have rushed this some. There are two mysteries in The Empty Birdcage, one for each Holmes. Mycroft is tasked with finding the missing fiance of his love interest Ai Lin (introduced in Mycroft and Sherlock) while Sherlock is running down a possible serial killer.
This sounds great on paper, but the execution is really sloppy. Both cases suffer from a lack of enjoyable pacing but the serial killer mystery especially comes across as messy. It also ends with a feeling of everything being a little rushed. I hope Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse can rebound if the series continues.
This sounds great on paper, but the execution is really sloppy. Both cases suffer from a lack of enjoyable pacing but the serial killer mystery especially comes across as messy. It also ends with a feeling of everything being a little rushed. I hope Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse can rebound if the series continues.
October 4, 2019
I've enjoyed all of Abdul-Jabbar's "Sherlock Holmes" novels, but this one not quite so much. Mycroft and his friend Cyrus Douglas are trying to find the Chinese fiancé of Ai Lin, a woman Mycroft loves but knows he can never win. The fiancé is mixed up with a sinister arms dealer who is sure he can outwit Mycroft. Meanwhile, the still young Sherlock comes down from his college determined to find the mysterious killer who seems to kill without weapons or motives. Both parties achieve their aims, although in Mycroft's case there's an ironic twist. But while we're finally given the killer's motive and weapons, we never even learn his name. That type of ending leaves me ultimately unsatisfied, so the book loses a star.
November 27, 2019
Originally published at Reading Reality
In this third book in the Mycroft Holmes and Sherlock series – after the marvelous Mycroft Holmes and Mycroft and Sherlock – we have the portrait of the bureaucrat as a young and still surprisingly slender and exceedingly insufferable young man alongside the portrait of the detective as an even more insufferable young man. We also see their sibling rivalry at full flower – and it’s not a pretty sight.
Absolutely fascinating, but not pretty at all. Mycroft is enough years older than Sherlock that he expects to be respected and obeyed by his younger brother while Sherlock is both intelligent enough to know his own mind and already detached enough from his own emotions and any thought of social consequences to respect little and obey no one unless it serves his still developing ends.
And in their relationship in this story as well as the previous we see the seeds of what is known of that relationship in the canonical Holmes stories – two men, tied by blood but not affinity, of extreme intelligence but with few emotions, acknowledging their relationship and sometimes using it while having virtually no sympathy for each other.
We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there. At the point in their lives when this story takes place, Mycroft is in his mid-20s and Sherlock in his nearing 20 – and attempting to escape the confines of academia at Oxford.
As was true in Mycroft and Sherlock, there are two cases in this story. As it is Mycroft’s series rather than Sherlock’s, Mycroft’s case is both more important and takes up more of the story, while Sherlock’s, although important, doesn’t have quite the same consequences.
As fits the lives they are growing into, Mycroft’s case has international ramifications, while Sherlock’s is entirely local to England and fits more into his canon of detective stories. Sherlock is after a diabolically clever serial killer, a case that it not out of his later line but is currently stretching both Mycroft’s patience and Sherlock’s growing abilities.
Mycroft, on the other hand, is after an international arms dealer who is trying to start a war between China and Japan. The stakes are much higher for Mycroft, and not just because his beloved Britain will inevitably get dragged into any conflict on one side or the other if only to protect their power in India and the subcontinent.
But the part of the plot that twists Mycroft into knots is the danger to the woman he loves but cannot have. Her fiance is either a catspaw or conspirator in the plot. Mycroft thinks he’s caught on the horns or a dilemma between love and duty – only to find that the place he’s truly caught is between conflicting hells.
Escape Rating A-: Unlike the previous two books in the series, this is one that I listened to all the way through. I believe that the narrator, Damian Lynch, is intended to represent the older, calmer, and more dispassionate voice of Cyrus Douglas in his narration, and he does an excellent job representing Douglas as narrator and chronicler as well as voicing the considerably younger and more excitable Holmes’ Brothers.
Not that Douglas doesn’t have his own important part to play in this case – among his other duties he acts as Mycroft’s conscience. A conscience that Mycroft definitely needs but listens to less and less. Which is part of him becoming the man we know from his first appearance in the canon, The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter – at least in personality if not in physical aspect.
Sherlock’s case, while being as convoluted as any in the Conan Doyle stories, is a relatively straightforward case of investigation. The fascination in observing Sherlock in this story is in watching as he is in the process of developing the methods we are familiar with. He is young, he is still learning, and he is almost certainly making it up as he goes along. He’s already traveled a good way towards becoming the persona we’re familiar with, but he’s still in the process of creating the methodology that made him famous. He also still makes a lot more mistakes.
But the heart of this story, in more ways than one, is the case that Mycroft is pursuing. We see him on his way to becoming the spider at the heart of Britain’s web of intelligence and operation. His entree into this case is through the young Chinese woman Ai Lin, a woman that he loves but knows that he cannot marry – and vice versa. They would be cast out of both of their cultures in ways that neither is willing to risk.
So he is resolved to do his best for her, to find her fiance who has become embroiled in the arms trade and is being offered as a sacrifice so that his employer can continue to deal with both sides of the current Sino-Japanese conflict. Mycroft begins the case somewhat blinded by his affections, and gulled into believing in his own intellectual superiority – only to discover that he’s been mistaken about the later while deciding that he needs to ignore the former – if he can.
His conclusions in the end put him squarely in the midst of this week’s theme, whether or not the ends justify the means, and who gets to decide the answer to that question. Mycroft makes a decision that is arguably the best for the country that he loves and serves, knowing that the cost of that decision will be borne by others who had no part in making it. He believes he is doing the right thing, but there is no one to whom he is accountable.
And the cost is excruciatingly high, and will be paid in ways that Mycroft only becomes aware of as the story closes. Yet we know that he would not change his decisions.
In the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, this is the central core of Mary’s estrangement from Mycroft. That he believes he sees all, knows all, and makes the best decisions for all, but there are no checks and balances on his decisions and he never has to answer for his actions to anyone. Mycroft has maneuvered himself into a hidden position of absolute power, and everyone knows the saying about about absolute power and the inevitability of it corrupting absolutely.
At the end of Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage, Mycroft is left to deal with the painful consequences of his actions – consequences that I expect to ripple through future books in this series. Books that I eagerly await.
In this third book in the Mycroft Holmes and Sherlock series – after the marvelous Mycroft Holmes and Mycroft and Sherlock – we have the portrait of the bureaucrat as a young and still surprisingly slender and exceedingly insufferable young man alongside the portrait of the detective as an even more insufferable young man. We also see their sibling rivalry at full flower – and it’s not a pretty sight.
Absolutely fascinating, but not pretty at all. Mycroft is enough years older than Sherlock that he expects to be respected and obeyed by his younger brother while Sherlock is both intelligent enough to know his own mind and already detached enough from his own emotions and any thought of social consequences to respect little and obey no one unless it serves his still developing ends.
And in their relationship in this story as well as the previous we see the seeds of what is known of that relationship in the canonical Holmes stories – two men, tied by blood but not affinity, of extreme intelligence but with few emotions, acknowledging their relationship and sometimes using it while having virtually no sympathy for each other.
We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there. At the point in their lives when this story takes place, Mycroft is in his mid-20s and Sherlock in his nearing 20 – and attempting to escape the confines of academia at Oxford.
As was true in Mycroft and Sherlock, there are two cases in this story. As it is Mycroft’s series rather than Sherlock’s, Mycroft’s case is both more important and takes up more of the story, while Sherlock’s, although important, doesn’t have quite the same consequences.
As fits the lives they are growing into, Mycroft’s case has international ramifications, while Sherlock’s is entirely local to England and fits more into his canon of detective stories. Sherlock is after a diabolically clever serial killer, a case that it not out of his later line but is currently stretching both Mycroft’s patience and Sherlock’s growing abilities.
Mycroft, on the other hand, is after an international arms dealer who is trying to start a war between China and Japan. The stakes are much higher for Mycroft, and not just because his beloved Britain will inevitably get dragged into any conflict on one side or the other if only to protect their power in India and the subcontinent.
But the part of the plot that twists Mycroft into knots is the danger to the woman he loves but cannot have. Her fiance is either a catspaw or conspirator in the plot. Mycroft thinks he’s caught on the horns or a dilemma between love and duty – only to find that the place he’s truly caught is between conflicting hells.
Escape Rating A-: Unlike the previous two books in the series, this is one that I listened to all the way through. I believe that the narrator, Damian Lynch, is intended to represent the older, calmer, and more dispassionate voice of Cyrus Douglas in his narration, and he does an excellent job representing Douglas as narrator and chronicler as well as voicing the considerably younger and more excitable Holmes’ Brothers.
Not that Douglas doesn’t have his own important part to play in this case – among his other duties he acts as Mycroft’s conscience. A conscience that Mycroft definitely needs but listens to less and less. Which is part of him becoming the man we know from his first appearance in the canon, The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter – at least in personality if not in physical aspect.
Sherlock’s case, while being as convoluted as any in the Conan Doyle stories, is a relatively straightforward case of investigation. The fascination in observing Sherlock in this story is in watching as he is in the process of developing the methods we are familiar with. He is young, he is still learning, and he is almost certainly making it up as he goes along. He’s already traveled a good way towards becoming the persona we’re familiar with, but he’s still in the process of creating the methodology that made him famous. He also still makes a lot more mistakes.
But the heart of this story, in more ways than one, is the case that Mycroft is pursuing. We see him on his way to becoming the spider at the heart of Britain’s web of intelligence and operation. His entree into this case is through the young Chinese woman Ai Lin, a woman that he loves but knows that he cannot marry – and vice versa. They would be cast out of both of their cultures in ways that neither is willing to risk.
So he is resolved to do his best for her, to find her fiance who has become embroiled in the arms trade and is being offered as a sacrifice so that his employer can continue to deal with both sides of the current Sino-Japanese conflict. Mycroft begins the case somewhat blinded by his affections, and gulled into believing in his own intellectual superiority – only to discover that he’s been mistaken about the later while deciding that he needs to ignore the former – if he can.
His conclusions in the end put him squarely in the midst of this week’s theme, whether or not the ends justify the means, and who gets to decide the answer to that question. Mycroft makes a decision that is arguably the best for the country that he loves and serves, knowing that the cost of that decision will be borne by others who had no part in making it. He believes he is doing the right thing, but there is no one to whom he is accountable.
And the cost is excruciatingly high, and will be paid in ways that Mycroft only becomes aware of as the story closes. Yet we know that he would not change his decisions.
In the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, this is the central core of Mary’s estrangement from Mycroft. That he believes he sees all, knows all, and makes the best decisions for all, but there are no checks and balances on his decisions and he never has to answer for his actions to anyone. Mycroft has maneuvered himself into a hidden position of absolute power, and everyone knows the saying about about absolute power and the inevitability of it corrupting absolutely.
At the end of Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage, Mycroft is left to deal with the painful consequences of his actions – consequences that I expect to ripple through future books in this series. Books that I eagerly await.
February 22, 2025
Still entertaining though a bit of a letdown after the second book. I think this is the last one, but they decide to write another, I'll probably read it 😅
3.5⭐
3.5⭐
March 24, 2021
It’s really a 3.5. Much better than the first one.
November 4, 2019
This just was not as good as the first two. For one thing I don't feel like we really learned anything new here or made any kind of character progress, or even introduced any new characters! For another thing, the mystery aspect was pretty subpar as well. The dual mysteries did not connect in any way at all, which you would really expect them to in a book like this. It was just Sherlock and Mycroft running around trying to solve two totally different mysteries and while Mycroft's had a mildly satisfactory resolution, Sherlock's was just shoved into the last chapter and I literally don't think we ever even learned the guy's name who did it. Also, while I appreciate that the series tackles issues of race during this time period I continue to be annoyed that any women present in the books for more than a single scene are generally either villains or Mycroft's love interests [or both]. It's just not a great look. Hopefully the next one will be better.
May 23, 2020
This is the third Mycroft Holmes book. I found it a bit disjointed, but enjoyed it. Mycroft and Sherlock are actually on completely different investigations. Sherlock is intrigued by a series of random killings. The victims appear to have nothing in common. The killer leaves no footprints or weapons marks but there is a card that says "Fire Four Eleven" at each scene. Sometimes found with the body; sometimes it shows up a few days later. Meanwhile, Mycroft is asked by an old friend to find a man who's gone missing. The man is meant to be his son-in-law and hasn't been seen for several weeks.
The narrative splits between the two investigations. Sometimes the jumps feel a bit abrupt and a few things are solved more or less via coincidence and the wrap up feels a bit hurried. But the solution of both mysteries is logical and satisfying.
The narrative splits between the two investigations. Sometimes the jumps feel a bit abrupt and a few things are solved more or less via coincidence and the wrap up feels a bit hurried. But the solution of both mysteries is logical and satisfying.
November 3, 2019
An intelligently written book yet it fails to live up to the first two of the series. Alfred Hitchcock might have been pleased with the twist ending but it does not exactly satisfy here. This book is strictly 'whodunit'. In the last two books Abdul-Jabbar wrote deeply about the characters allowing the reader to care about them. He weaved interesting cultural and historical information in the story as well. Now that I am used to that brand I was disappointed in this one. Hopefully another book is planned to rescue the stranded reader. Of course, this could be the plan all along. Leave the reader in suspension about characters like Cyrus and Ai Lin, even young Sherlock. For sure there are creative paths for other stories as Mycroft now has old and new nemeses, and Sherlock seems to have a new friend-sleuthing partner (who by the way isn't Watson).
January 9, 2020
I love all things Sherlock Holmes, so I jumped on this series. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but it may have been too long or I didn't retain enough info from book #2 because I was confused by some of the references in book #3. Not that it makes this a bad book, just an eye opener that maybe I need to slow down and pay closer attention OR wait until the series is complete and "binge read".
"It is 1873, and as the economies of Europe threaten to crumble, Mycroft Holmes finds himself in service to the Crown once again. A distant relative of Queen Victoria has been slain by the Fire Four Eleven killer, a serial murderer who leaves no mark upon his victims, only a mysterious calling card. Meanwhile, Sherlock has already taken it upon himself to solve the case, as his interest in the criminal mind grows into an obsession. Mycroft begrudgingly allows Sherlock to investigate, as Ai Lin—the woman he is still in love with—needs his aid. Her fiancé has been kidnapped, and the only man who might know his fate is a ruthless arms dealer with a reputation for killing those who cross him. Mycroft persuades his friend Cyrus Douglas to help find the young man, but Douglas himself is put in harm’s way. As Sherlock travels the country on the hunt for the Fire Four Eleven murderer, both he and Mycroft will discover that the greed of others is at the root of the evil they are trying to unearth."
"It is 1873, and as the economies of Europe threaten to crumble, Mycroft Holmes finds himself in service to the Crown once again. A distant relative of Queen Victoria has been slain by the Fire Four Eleven killer, a serial murderer who leaves no mark upon his victims, only a mysterious calling card. Meanwhile, Sherlock has already taken it upon himself to solve the case, as his interest in the criminal mind grows into an obsession. Mycroft begrudgingly allows Sherlock to investigate, as Ai Lin—the woman he is still in love with—needs his aid. Her fiancé has been kidnapped, and the only man who might know his fate is a ruthless arms dealer with a reputation for killing those who cross him. Mycroft persuades his friend Cyrus Douglas to help find the young man, but Douglas himself is put in harm’s way. As Sherlock travels the country on the hunt for the Fire Four Eleven murderer, both he and Mycroft will discover that the greed of others is at the root of the evil they are trying to unearth."
February 23, 2020
Not a great book, but well worth reading.
I haven't tried the first two of these, but I will now.
The relationship between M & S is believable; their sidekicks are good; and the case is not bad.
The bad guy is a little TOO bad, but that's common enough.
The method of murder was easy to get, but the, ahem, connexion among the victim's wasn't. And the bird was a bit of a stretch.
Really, we're watching Mycroft and Sherlock, and the murders are secondary. Even allowing for that, the ending is weak. I was reading away, saw that there were only about 20 pages left, and thought, "bother, another one of THOSE books."
I haven't tried the first two of these, but I will now.
The relationship between M & S is believable; their sidekicks are good; and the case is not bad.
The bad guy is a little TOO bad, but that's common enough.
The method of murder was easy to get, but the, ahem, connexion among the victim's wasn't. And the bird was a bit of a stretch.
Really, we're watching Mycroft and Sherlock, and the murders are secondary. Even allowing for that, the ending is weak. I was reading away, saw that there were only about 20 pages left, and thought, "bother, another one of THOSE books."
April 7, 2020
What a delight. Sherlock is not yet a consulting detective, but many of his well-known personal tics are there. Meanwhile, we get to know his older brother Mycroft, in his mid-twenties and already an eminence grise in the British government. Mycroft is often accompanied by his friend (and voice of conscience), Cyrus Douglas, a very tall black man with wide experience of the world. Intricate mysteries, delightful period touches. I'm looking forward to reading the earlier adventures.
April 28, 2025
I have enjoyed reading this series and following the life of Mycroft Holmes. The authors did a good job of providing depth to his character. I also liked his friendship with Douglas since it seemed very natural. It is also fun to see Sherlock in his very early stages of sleuthing. As for this book, it had a nice build up for the two separate cases that were occurring, but the ending was kinda disappointing. It felt very abrupt and anticlimactic. Other than that, I enjoyed it.
March 7, 2022
Some people would be happy enough to lead the NBA in all time scoring, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar felt the need to lead it in Sherlock Holmes novels also. There are a few moments where the writing is a bit sloppy and the ending feels a little too rushed, but overall this is a nice addition to his first two Holmes books.
October 16, 2019
A lot tighter than the last offering, with parallel story lines lending suspense but not at the expense of momentum. You'll like this Sherlock, but it is Mycroft and Cyrus that are the more complicated, engaging characters.
September 5, 2020
I've been letting this book sit in my brain for a bit and I decided to take my rating down to 4 stars. It does hurt a little bit, because this book was SO much fun! But I also agree with other reviewers; the ending wrapped up a little too quickly and the discriptions could be very vague.
But besides those two things? This book kept me engaged, I had lots of fun, I loved the (side) characters and the mystery was very fun to figure out. Can't wait to read the rest of this series!
But besides those two things? This book kept me engaged, I had lots of fun, I loved the (side) characters and the mystery was very fun to figure out. Can't wait to read the rest of this series!
September 7, 2022
I think I liked this one the best, but you have to read the other books to have an understanding of the characters in this book. Sherlock was not whiny now that he had an assignment. I need to read the original Sherlock series to see how it compares.
May 22, 2024
3.5 rounded up. I really liked this series extending the story of Sherlock Holmes’ adventures to his brother Mycroft. I don’t think there will be another in the series and that’s too bad as I didn’t feel like it is over. Too much left undone.
November 17, 2019
Love this series!!!
December 3, 2019
I'm really hoping this series continues, because I'm enjoying it so much! I still like Mycroft and Sherlock best of the three, but I did like this one better than Mycroft Holmes.
March 28, 2023
The parallel mysteries this time are a bit mysterious and a bit clunky.
Read
June 24, 2024My favorite of the 3. 5 stars
February 17, 2025
Another excellent tale of the Holmes Brothers.
November 18, 2019
With that ending there just HAS to be another book in the series!!
January 18, 2025
I listened to this and really enjoyed it
March 13, 2020
Lots of great research and twisted plot.
September 20, 2020
This has been a reliable series for me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 317 reviews