3 reasons why Mycroft and Sherlock should be your next Holmesian read

Fans of Sir Conan Arthur Doyle’s novels, or anything Sherlock Holmes, might enjoy this take on the classic detective tale told from Mycroft Holmes’ perspective.

Sports legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has proven that basketball isn’t his only strong suit. He’s an all-around Renaissance man — with his mysteries series revolving around Mycroft Holmes to be proof. Mycroft and Sherlock, from Titan Books, isn’t the first book he’s written (and it isn’t the first book about Mycroft Holmes that he’s written, either). But it is a stand-out mystery novel, regardless of if you’ve read the first story or not.

You’ve seen Sherlock’s older brother, Mycroft, on screen portrayed by the legendary Stephen Fry in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. And he’s even appeared in the hit BBC show, Sherlock, portrayed by the series co-creator Mark Gatiss. But neither of these two popular adaptations really give you as good as a look into Mycroft’s life as does Abdul-Jabbar’s Mycroft and Sherlock. With Anna Waterhouse as a co-author, the book is a hit all throughout. But if you need more convincing, here are three reasons why you should make it your next read.

The mystery is complex but not convoluted

There are many moving parts to this mystery as Mycroft Holmes tries to piece together the connections between several murders, the drug overdose of an orphan boy, and the suspicious doings of a prominent Chinese family. Throughout the novel, you might feel a bit like Charlie from It’s Always Sunny in Philidelphia when he was trying to keep track of Pepe Silvia. But at no point did the clues ever become too overwhelming. In the back of your mind, you’ll be wondering how each of these seemingly unconnected events relate to one another. But in the end, there will be an emotionally satisfying payoff.

Mycroft is the new Sherlock

And Sherlock is the new John Watson… sort of. As a super secondary character in the Holmesian canon, one might think that a novel revolving entirely around Mycroft Holmes would be a sure mistake. This book proves quite the contrary. The depth of character Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse build into Mycroft, only 26 years-old in this novel, is astounding. Bringing Sherlock into this narrative doesn’t make the book whole, because it’s already complete with Mycroft. Sherlock’s simply an addition that helps round out Mycroft’s character and the mystery. But even other side characters get their due credit, a rarity in some reads.

There’s diversity in the Victorian era

Gasp. Who knew that Victorian London was not 100 percent white? While other pieces we’ve seen from this period portray London as having no diversity whatsoever, Mycroft and Sherlock brings to light that, indeed, people of other races have come to inhabit this great city.  Cyrus Douglas, Mycroft’s right-hand man, is a great example of this. Douglas is a black man from Trinidad with a pure heart who would have been well respected by society, if it weren’t for the color of his skin. London’s growing Chinese population also takes center-stage in this novel, but I won’t reveal too much about that and how it affects the mystery.

In short, stereotypes surrounding these minority groups (including women) do appear in the book, but Mycroft and characters in those groups are used to show that not all stereotypes are true. It’s rewarding to see these groups portrayed in a good light, and it truly brings this 19th-century novel into the 21st century.

Mycroft and Sherlock is out now wherever books are sold. By the end of reading this book, you might just be wishing for a third installment. And to that, we must ask: pretty please?