Anna Waterhouse

As a fan of both apocryphal (aka fan) fiction and mysteries, and someone whose attention is piqued by curiosities, how could I not pick this up during my first visit to a bookstore in over 10 months? A Sherlock Holmes fan fiction penned by the most unlikely writer: basketball star (and, it turns out, scholar of literature and history) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! And I must say, not that I was expecting it to be bad, but it was a pleasant surprise. Sherlock is actually a side character in this inaugural volume of a new series, which actually revolves around Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's G-man older brother. I don't know how prominently Mycroft figures in the original Conan Doyle stories, but I have seen him depicted as a pretty major figure in Sherlock's life, in other adaptations. This story takes place early in his government career (Sherlock is at college), and he is preparing to wed, and kicking around with his Black friend Douglas, the tobacconist. I always find it interesting to see how authors deal with race in historical fiction, because it seems hard to know just how racialized people got along in other times. This novel is set in 1870, when things were still very raw for people of African descent, with the abolition of slavery barely in the rearview in most places. Douglas seems to get along all right -- he's a strong person, but he knows when to duck his head and say nothing, to avoid unpleasantness. Not so different than it is today, sadly. Anyway, Mycroft follows his Caribbean-born (white) fiancee to Trinidad, where she was called to deal with some disturbing events -- and finds himself embroiled in quite another sort of situation. Slavery rears its ugly head, along with some nefarious deeds involving government officials and even royalty. But, Mycroft proves himself his brother's deductive equal, and finds his way out of things through intellect and reasoning, along with a hefty dose of derring-do. This was a well-paced and well-written tale, and I will definitely return to Mycroft's world.… (mer)