Mycroft Holmes Holmes. Possessing deductive powers exceeding even those of his younger brother, Mycroft is nevertheless incapable of performing detective work similar to that of Sherlock as he is unwilling to put in the physical effort necessary to bring cases to their conclusions. In "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" Sherlock Holmes says: Though Sherlock initially tells Watson that Mycroft audits books for some government departments, he later reveals that Mycroft's true role is more substantial. While Conan Doyle's stories leave unclear what Mycroft Holmes' exact position is in the British government, Sherlock Holmes says that "Occasionally he "is" the British government
Jack Spratt (fictional detective) happily married with five children. In addition, he is shown in the beginning of "The Big Over Easy" to be an experienced and accomplished police detective, but low on self-confidence, virtually incapable of securing convictions and never recognized for the ones he does make. The reason for this is that police funding is based on public approval, which is in turn influenced by the news magazine "Amazing Crime Stories". This enormously popular "true crime" magazine prints glamorous police cases--usually involving noir clichés like secret societies, mafia assassins and baffling, meticulously planned murders--that are allegedly true and unedited, but actually largely