Damien March is a disconsolate thirty-something working the night shift at the BBC. He hasn't thought of his eccentric Uncle Patrick for years when he receives a terse telegram: Patrick dead. Father. Damien is surprised to learn that he has inherited his uncle's ramshackle house on an isolated island near Cape Cod. Without a job or relationship compelling enough to keep him in London, he makes a move to the United States. It turns out that Damien's step into a new future means moving circuitously into his family's past. He uncovers letters and writings-scattered clues that shed light on Patrick's solitary life.
When he discovers a fragment of an unpublished novel, The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes, the stakes in this paper chase are suddenly higher. Mycroft, the older brother of Sherlock, bears a striking resemblance to Patrick. Soon Damien finds himself revealing dark and unsettling truths that shatter his most fundamental assumptions.
Written with warmth and distinctive humor, The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes is at once an engaging mystery and an illuminating coming-of-age story about family secrets, rivalries, and identity.