Anna Waterhouse

The third Mycroft tale (after Mycroft and Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes) from coauthors Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse is another winner. The Victorian setting is well drawn, the dialog rings true, the period details, both factual and fictive, support a labyrinthine plot including race and class distinctions. It all meshes into a fine tale set prior to the Sherlockian stories we know so well. Highly recommended, as are its two predecessors.

Basketball legend Abdul-Jabbar is also a pro writer, having done memoirs, nonfiction, essays, children's books and, with Waterhouse, Mycroft Holmes, the precursor to this novel. Fans of Conan Doyle will appreciate the period accuracy, but a much wider audience will enjoy the intelligent treatment of race and social standing as part of a well-plotted, intriguing mystery.

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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.]