Sherlock Holmes is a government official. Mycroft has a unique civil service position as a kind of human database for all aspects of government policy. He lacks Sherlock's interest in physical investigation, however, preferring to spend his time at the Diogenes Club. Holmes says that he first developed his methods of deduction as an undergraduate; his earliest cases, which he pursued as an amateur, came from fellow university students. A meeting with a classmate's father led him to adopt detection as a profession, and he spent several years after university as a consultant before financial difficulties led him to accept John H.
Mycroft Holmes (novel) country in the world." In choosing to write about Mycroft, Abdul-Jabbar diverged somewhat from Conan Doyle's version. Christopher Farnsworth writing for "The Los Angeles Times" said "Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse have created a smart origin story for Mycroft that slots neatly onto the shelves next to the original canon, but also reveals some harsh truths that Doyle probably never considered. " Mike Sager writing for "Esquire" said "The briskly written book has a delicately woven plot, bringing together such diverse elements as Trinidadian culture and folklore, the tobacco importation business in London, and a villain's elaborate scheme to bring slavery back