I found myself torn while reading this book. On the one hand, the writing style was engaging and the vocabulary and phrasing felt very period-appropriate. On the other hand, I quite frankly disliked the main narrator (Guthrie, Mycroft's secretary) and I had a lot of problems with the plot itself. Mycroft 's sedentary lifestyle is actually a ruse used to fool his enemies into underestimating him, and also serves to confuse them as to his secret work for the government. In order to accomplish this, he has a body-double impersonate his routine at home during the day, and cross over to the Diogenes Club at the appropriate time. Throughout this story, there are watchers around the house who must be thrown off the scent. However... The people Mycroft suspects of collusion are often the very ones he is meeting in secret meetings, and obviously they all know that he's out and about. And he leaves out the front door to get in his cab, etc. I just couldn't see this ploy working on any of his sophisticated political enemies. It was just very weak, story-wise.
