Title: The Case of the Missing Marquess
Series: Enola Holmes Mysteries
Year: 2006
Author: Nancy Springer
Summary: When Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared—on her 14th birthday nonetheless—she knows she alone can find her. Disguising herself as a grieving widow, Enola sets out to the heart of London to uncover her mother’s whereabouts—but not even the last name Holmes can prepare her for what awaits. Suddenly involved in the kidnapping of the young Marquess of Basilwether, Enola must escape murderous villains, free the spoiled Marquess, and perhaps hardest of all, elude her shrewd older brother—all while collecting clues to her mother’s disappearance! (from Goodreads)
Main Characters:
~ Enola Holmes
~ Enola Holmes
Review: This is a fun twist on your typical Sherlock Holmes story. While I'm not normally fond of spin-offs of classic, favorite tales, this was pretty impressive. It's truly a fun, female, water-downed version of everyone's favorite detective.
Now I realize that description sounds awful, but bear with me. What do younger sisters read while their elder siblings are devouring the gruesome, graphic, descriptive tales of Sherlock's mysteries? Why, Enola Holmes, of course! If you want something that tastes of Sherlock, but isn't Sherlock itself, go for this book. I'd honestly like to get my hands on some more of this series. It's short, sweet, and mysterious.
Enola Holmes has mostly grown up without knowing her older brothers, Mycroft and Sherlock. On her fourteenth birthday, Mrs. Holmes go missing. Kidnapped? Perhaps. However, when Enola's brothers arrive on the scene, they seem to think that she ran off on her own because she was fed up with her present life. Enola refuses to believe that her mother would abandon everything like that, and she's determined to prove it. Only, her brothers are now throwing a wrench in the works: she must learn to become a young lady. It's a nightmare for Enola right from the start. New clothes, new manners, new rules... after growing up secluded from society and a little tomboy-ish, Enola doesn't adapt as well as her brothers had hoped. And of course, that's only before Enola decides to strike out on her own to find her mother.
One thing I really liked was just Enola's name. "Enola" backwards spells alone, and that fact was referenced several times throughout the book. Nothing spectacular, but I just thought it interesting, so I'm mentioning it. Usually, as a general rule, I don't read spin-offs as new authors tend to re-personalize (yes, I'm making that word up) my favorite characters. While Sherlock wasn't necessarily portrayed wrong in this book, I felt that he was watered-down perhaps a bit. He wasn't exactly the marvel that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle penned him as (of course, who could ever meet *those* standards??), but he still felt somewhat genuine. I think it helped that he wasn't a huge character in the story, more of just someone who popped in once in a while. The book is named after Enola, so you'd naturally expect more of her than Sherlock.
Now I realize that description sounds awful, but bear with me. What do younger sisters read while their elder siblings are devouring the gruesome, graphic, descriptive tales of Sherlock's mysteries? Why, Enola Holmes, of course! If you want something that tastes of Sherlock, but isn't Sherlock itself, go for this book. I'd honestly like to get my hands on some more of this series. It's short, sweet, and mysterious.
Enola Holmes has mostly grown up without knowing her older brothers, Mycroft and Sherlock. On her fourteenth birthday, Mrs. Holmes go missing. Kidnapped? Perhaps. However, when Enola's brothers arrive on the scene, they seem to think that she ran off on her own because she was fed up with her present life. Enola refuses to believe that her mother would abandon everything like that, and she's determined to prove it. Only, her brothers are now throwing a wrench in the works: she must learn to become a young lady. It's a nightmare for Enola right from the start. New clothes, new manners, new rules... after growing up secluded from society and a little tomboy-ish, Enola doesn't adapt as well as her brothers had hoped. And of course, that's only before Enola decides to strike out on her own to find her mother.
One thing I really liked was just Enola's name. "Enola" backwards spells alone, and that fact was referenced several times throughout the book. Nothing spectacular, but I just thought it interesting, so I'm mentioning it. Usually, as a general rule, I don't read spin-offs as new authors tend to re-personalize (yes, I'm making that word up) my favorite characters. While Sherlock wasn't necessarily portrayed wrong in this book, I felt that he was watered-down perhaps a bit. He wasn't exactly the marvel that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle penned him as (of course, who could ever meet *those* standards??), but he still felt somewhat genuine. I think it helped that he wasn't a huge character in the story, more of just someone who popped in once in a while. The book is named after Enola, so you'd naturally expect more of her than Sherlock.
Advisory: I can't recall anything off the top of my head. Enola is becoming a young lady, yet nothing is discussed save for corsets, bustles, and the like. Some mild action typical of mysteries, but it has a very Nancy Drew feel to it.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I love this series! And yet I can never find anyone else who has read them. Wonderful review, my dear. :)
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