Book Review
Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapades by Nancy Springer
Reader’s Thoughts:
There’s been a movie popping up on my Netflix lately, promising a witty and suspenseful period piece — Enola Holmes. And so, when St. Martin’s Press offered me a copy of the newest book in the Enola series, Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade, my interest was immediately piqued.
Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade is a young-adult read. The story follows the character of Enola Holmes, the younger sister of the famous Sherlock Holmes and his brother Mycroft. Much like her older brother, Enola has a penchant for solving mysteries. Working as a scientific perditorian, she is smart, resourceful, and feisty, defying the expectations for young women of the day.
This book was a light, afternoon read. I could definitely imagine it being a huge success for my teenage self. The writing feels suitable to YA readers 12+ and provides an easy-to-read introduction to the Victorian era.
While I was expecting a mystery, the storyline instead focused on Enola saving her friend, Cecily. Fast paced and full of never-ending energy, I would classify this story as an adventure rather than mystery. But despite the lack of plot twists or “whodunnit reveals,” the book was still highly entertaining.
Sherlock Holmes has long been one of my favorite characters and this read was a fun addition to that world. There were some great interactions between Enola and her brother — ones that will hopefully inspire another generation of readers to delve into Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories too. I look forward to seeing how this series translates to screen!
Recommended for:
YA readers who enjoy adventure and plucky heroines
Recommend having read the first seven books in the series first
This post contains affiliate links; as an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. ARC provided courtesy of the publisher, St. Martin’s Press. All opinions expressed are my own.
About the book:
(From the publisher) 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 soons 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.