Mycroft Holmes has been described as Sherlock Holmes’ smarter brother.

The reclusive Mycroft works with the British government. He reportedly has deductive skills greater than his younger brother, though he does not apply them to cases because he disdains the work, especially investigating in the field, and is physically unable to chase criminals.

Mycroft was introduced as a small supporting role in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes stories. He’s occasionally seen more action and character development from non-Doyle movies and books.

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and co-writer Anna Waterhouse have taken Mycroft a step further with what appears to be a series of books.

Their “Mycroft Holmes,” released a few years ago, put the spotlight on the elder Holmes brother, albeit in his younger days. Sherlock would have been only a boy in this novel.

In “Mycroft and Sherlock,” the elder brother is now in his mid-20s and the younger Holmes brother is still a teenager.

As with the first book, Mycroft works with his friend, Douglas, a black London businessman who runs a home for orphaned boys. Douglas pretends to be only the assistant to an invalid white benefactor so as not to raise concerns of a black man running an orphanage for white boys in Victorian London.

After one of Douglas’ new charges is killed in what appears to be a drug-related murder, Mycroft and Douglas delve into the drug trade in the Chinese community of London. They become embroiled in the workings of a vast drug ring and the grisly deaths of several Chinese residents.

The teenage Sherlock also takes an interest in the case. Mycroft is involved out of necessity to help his friend, Douglas, but Sherlock has an obsessive interest in crime. An interest Mycroft hopes Sherlock will outgrow.

Abdul-Jabbar and Waterhouse write a highly readable story, though the young Sherlock reminded me of Sheldon from the TV comedy “Big Bang Theory.” Still, it works. Young Sherlock is what one might expect and it shadows characteristics to come for the older Sherlock.

“Mycroft and Sherlock” is a case worth investigating.