Enola Holmes and the black barouche

In 1889, Enola Holmes, the clever younger sister of Sherlock (and a fellow private investigator), meets her brother's latest client and quickly takes the lead in solving the case. Miss Letitia Glover recently received word of her twin sister, Flossie's, death, but she is suspicious of her brother-in-law, a wealthy earl. Traveling in disguise, Enola arrives at his stately home, wrangles an invitation to stay, and uses her time to observe the household and ferret out information. Locked into Flossie's boudoir, she discovers an important clue and then makes a perilous escape. Readers drawn to the audacious main character and her lively, droll first-person narrative will find themselves learning about Victorian English society while increasing their vocabularies. Sherlock Holmes contributes the book's prologue and epilogue. In The Case of the Missing Marquess (2006), Springer first introduced Enola to mystery lovers. Five sequels quickly followed. The Netflix film Enola Holmes (2020) has brought a new wave of readers to the original books, and this latest novel continues the chronicle of this capable, ingenious, and fiercely independent young woman.

Gr 6 Up--In 1889, 15-year-old Enola Holmes has reached a détente with her much older brothers, having amply proven that she can outwit them both and take care of herself. So when Tish Glover seeks to consult an indisposed Sherlock, Enola offers her services instead. Tish's identical twin, Flossie, has been reported dead by her aristocratic husband, but Tish refuses to believe it; rumors hint that the Earl of Dunhench's first wife, also reported dead, was actually taken away in a "black barouche." Not knowing what that means, Enola decides to investigate by going to Dunhench herself. Soon she, her aristocratic friend Tewky (Viscount Tewkesbury), Sherlock, Tish, and Dr. Watson all become involved in a harrowing adventure to expose the truth behind the black barouche--and Flossie's disappearance. Springer's historical worldbuilding is exemplary. Evocative sensory descriptions paint vivid pictures of Enola's England, from the Earl's elegant manor to Bedlam's abject misery, and character interactions reflect Victorian treatment of women. Echoing Conan Doyle's prose style, the author's dry wit and sophisticated vocabulary ("scagliola," "crepuscular," "erinyes") will delight some readers, but may confound others. Moving at a speedy pace, the story offers more adventure than mystery, since Enola discovers the truth in the first half of the book. Although characters are distinctive, the adventurous and fashion-loving Enola has the most depth. Characters' ethnicities are generally not described. VERDICT Hand Enola's lively new adventure to fans of Sherlock Holmes, historical fiction, or Netflix's Enola Holmes.--Rebecca Moore, The Overlake Sch., Redmond, WA

Teenage sleuth Enola Holmes is back in a follow-up to earlier, middle-grade offerings. A self-described "Scientific Perditorian," grandiloquent Enola Holmes arrives at Baker Street to find her brother, Sherlock, nearly catatonic due to a fit of melancholia. However, when Miss Letitia Glover shows up, convinced that news of her twin sister Flossie's death cannot be true, the puzzle-loving Holmes siblings can't resist taking on the case. Flossie's husband Caddie Rudcliff, the Earl of Dunhench, sent word that a fever had quickly overtaken Flossie and that she was immediately cremated without so much as a funeral--the same fate as his first wife, Myzella. As Sherlock and Enola investigate, readers are treated to an altogether delightfully engaging romp about Victorian London through visits to horrifying asylums and sprawling manor houses, the antics of a fractious horse, and lush sartorial descriptions. Women's agency--or the lack thereof--is brought to the forefront as Enola repeatedly encounters difficulty due to her gender. With nearly a decade having passed since Springer penned a case for Enola (with a graphic novel and a film being released in the interim), this is an excellent entry point for both established fans and newcomers, and it includes a helpful recap in a prologue from Sherlock's point of view. Enola's voice is wholly charming, prone to just the right bit of humorous snark and a penchant for lists. All characters are presumed White. A clever whodunit with broad appeal. (Mystery. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.