ENOLA HOLMES AND THE ELEGANT ESCAPADE, by Nancy Springer, Wednesday Books, Sept. 6, 2022, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 12 and up)
Sherlock’s younger sister is back and better than ever in Nancy Springer’s Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade.
Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of Sherlock, is now living independently in London and working as a scientific perditorian (a finder of persons and things). But that is not the normal lot of young women in Victorian England. They are under the near absolute control of their nearest male relative until adulthood.
Such is the case of Enola’s friend, Lady Cecily Alastair. Twice before Enola has rescued Lady Cecily from unpleasant designs of her caddish father, Sir Eustace Alastair, Baronet. And when Enola is brusquely turned away at the door of the Alastair home it soon becomes apparent that Lady Cecily once again needs her help.
Affecting a bold escape, Enola takes Lady Cecily to her secret office only to be quickly found by the person hired by Lady Cecily’s mother to find the missing girl — Sherlock Holmes himself. But the girl has already disappeared again, now loose on her own in the unforgiving city of London.
Even worse, Lady Cecily has a secret that few know. She has dual personalities — one, which is left-handed, is independent and competent; the other, which is right-handed, is meek and mild. Now Enola must find Lady Cecily again — before one of her personalities gets her into more trouble than she can handle and before Sherlock can find her and return her to her father. Once again, for Enola, the game is afoot. —Synopsis provided by Wednesday Books
In 2006, author Nancy Springer introduced the world to Enola Holmes. Since then, she’s written seven more novels in The Enola Holmes Mysteries, with Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade releasing Sept. 6.
Though already popular, the series gained a new following in 2020 with a Netflix film (a follow-up is set to release Nov. 4).
The star of all of the Enola books is Enola, and that’s no different in Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade. The story unfolds from Enola’s point of view, with the protagonist telling you everything in a conversational, a little bit snarky, tone. It almost feels like she’s sitting next to you, narrating the events from the comfort of your living room. Springer’s brilliant prose is full of live, light and drama, making for an entertaining read from beginning to end.
Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade reads like a series of small mysteries buried inside a larger one. This setup gives readers little wins along the way while building to the final scene.
While the earlier books in this series were recommended for ages 10 and up, Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade is being billed as YA. The only reason I can see for this is that Enola is growing older. There’s nothing objectionable in it, and if my daughter had already read the first seven books, I’d have no problem handing her this one.
Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade is an engaging read that should appeal to readers young and old. It’s a fast read — I read it in one sitting —that made me wish Springer’s books were around when I was younger.
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