Publisher's Weekly Review
Basketball legend Abdul-Jabbar (On the Shoulders of Giants) makes his triumphant adult fiction debut with an action yarn that fills in the backstory of Sherlock Holmes's older and smarter brother, Mycroft. In 1870, the 23-year-old Mycroft, who has a reputation as a daredevil, is serving as a secretary at the War Office when word reaches London of a series of unusual deaths in Trinidad. Someone, or some thing, has been killing children and draining their blood. The locals believe the culprits are supernatural beings known as lougarou, who drain children of their blood, and douen, who leave highly unusual footprints near their victims. The tragic news stuns Mycroft's fiancée, Georgiana Sutton, who immediately sails home to Trinidad. Disobeying her request to stay behind, Mycroft follows Georgiana to Trinidad, where he must exercise his intellect and his innate diplomatic skills to solve the crimes and remain alive. Sherlockians who relish the screen adventures of Cumberbatch and Downey will be particularly entertained. Agent: Deborah Morales, Iconomy. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
When rumors of missing persons and mysterious footprints in the sand travel from the shores of Trinidad to the heart of London, there's only one man for the job: Mycroft Holmes. Sherlock's older brother is cutting his teeth in diplomacy and espionage as assistant to the British secretary of state for war when he and his closest friend, Trinidadian Cyrus Douglas, first hear of the eerie happenings. The men are concerned but skeptical until Holmes's fiancée, -Georgiana, a Trinidadian herself, rushes home to investigate. Douglas and Holmes quickly set a course for the island and a harrowing adventure that will forever change and define them. VERDICT Clear space on your new fiction shelf for this slam-dunk of a debut novel. Cowritten by NBA all-star and author Abdul-Jabbar (What Color Is My World?) and screenwriter and producer -Waterhouse, the team behind the NAACP and Telly Award-winning documentary On the Shoulders of Giants, this latest collaboration brings a fresh voice and broadened scope to the Holmes canon. Historical fiction and mystery fans will be the first to demand this title, but its mass appeal is undeniable. [See Prepub Alert, 5/4/15.]-Liv Hanson, Chicago © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.