Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche

Nancy Springer

August 31, 2021

Wednesday Books

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Blurb:

Enola Holmes is the much younger sister of her more famous brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft. But she has all the wits, skills, and sleuthing inclinations of them both. At fifteen, she’s an independent young woman–after all, her name spelled backwards reads ‘alone’–and living on her own in London. When a young professional woman, Miss Letitia Glover, shows up on Sherlock’s doorstep, desperate to learn more about the fate of her twin sister, it is Enola who steps up. It seems her sister, the former Felicity Glover, married the Earl of Dunhench and per a curt note from the Earl, has died. But Letitia Glover is convinced this isn’t the truth, that she’d know–she’d feel–if her twin had died.

The Earl’s note is suspiciously vague and the death certificate is even more dubious, signed it seems by a John H. Watson, M.D. (who denies any knowledge of such). The only way forward is for Enola to go undercover–or so Enola decides at the vehement objection of her brother. And she soon finds out that this is not the first of the Earl’s wives to die suddenly and vaguely–and that the secret to the fate of the missing Felicity is tied to a mysterious black barouche that arrived at the Earl’s home in the middle of the night. To uncover the secrets held tightly within the Earl’s hall, Enola is going to require help–from Sherlock, from the twin sister of the missing woman, and from an old friend, the young Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether!

Enola Holmes returns in her first adventure since the hit Netflix movie brought her back on the national bestseller lists, introducing a new generation to this beloved character and series.

Purchase Link:
Amazon

When I saw the Enola Holmes film on Netflix, I had no idea that it was based on the novels by Nancy Springer–I admit quite shame-facedly. Thankfully, Wednesday Books enlightened me and offered me the opportunity to read the latest Enola Holmes mystery, Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche, as part of the book tour to celebrate this new release.

Letitia Glover visits the home of Sherlock Holmes, but he is indisposed (depressed and actually on the sofa), when she meets with his younger sister, Enola, instead. Letitia’s sister, Felicity, has been pronounced dead after getting a fever and her cremation ashes have been sent to Letitia, but Letitia doesn’t believe that her twin is dead. She knows that she would feel that her twin was dead. Enola tells her that they will find out what happened to her sister.

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche is a delightfully fun YA mystery in which Enola matches her brilliant brother, Sherlock, idea for idea. Apart and then together, they don disguises and pretend to be other people in order to acquire the information they need to track down what exactly happened to Felicity Glover. Despite the fact that Enola is much younger than Sherlock her keen observations match his very well. And her character is as feisty as she is smart and just a pleasure to read about.

Evidently Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche is Book 7 in the series but can be read as a standalone. I say that, but I did watch the film so that may have filled in a few holes. Nevertheless, the book was so much fun to read that I am looking forward to reading the previous six books and hope that more are on the way.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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rating: 

5 out of 5 butterflies

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