Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade by Nancy SpringerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of Sherlock, is 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. And when Enola is turned away at the door of the Alastair home it becomes apparent that Lady Cecily needs her help. Affecting a bold escape, Enola takes Lady Cecily to her secret office only to be found by the person hired by Lady Cecily's mother to find the missing girl—Sherlock Holmes himself. But the girl has disappeared, now on her own in the unforgiving city of London. Even worse, Lady Cecily has a secret. She has dual personalities—one, which is left-handed, and independent and competent; the other is right-handed and meek and mild. Now Enola must find Lady Cecily 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.
This historical mystery is a fun read that will keep you turning the pages until the end. Enola is on equal footing as a sleuth as her older brother, Sherlock. She is clever, resourceful, daring, and understands people more than she should for her age. Like her brother, Enola also has informants and helpers, such as a cab driver and the other ladies at her lodgings. These characters are fully formed and add nuance to the historical setting of this story. The plot is interesting and shows the need that Enola has to connect with people. The ending seemed a little sad and felt like a conclusion. I certainly hope that there are more stories coming in this series. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader’s copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.
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