Mycroft and Sherlock

As Mycroft Holmes’s stock continues to rise in the government, his younger brother Sherlock struggles to maintain an interest in school, increasingly fixated on the seedier elements of London society. But their diverging paths soon collide when the growing opium trade in England claims the life of a young boy who was recently receiving care and attention from Mycroft’s friend Douglas. As Sherlock’s investigation plunges into dangerous waters, Mycroft might be his only hope.

The familiar Mycroft and Sherlock begin to take shape in Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse’s second outing in the Mycroft series, a sophomore effort that struggles to make the most of the first’s momentum.

Mycroft Holmes was a breath of fresh air in the Sherlockian canon, not only providing intriguing insight into the early days of Sherlock’s mysterious brother, but, by shifting the action to an unfamiliar locale in Trinidad, allowing for greater exploration of social issues previously untouched in Doyle’s stories.

But Mycroft and Sherlock feels more pedestrian, with an overly-complicated criminal conspiracy at play. (Mycroft’s focus on his health proved to be an intriguing subplot, but otherwise, their Trinidadian misadventure seemed mostly forgotten.)

If another installment is coming, here’s hoping it’s a return to form for the talented duos (both Sherlock and Mycroft AND Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse).