About the Book:

Title: The Case of the Missing Marquess

Author: Nancy Springer 

Publisher: Puffin Books 

Release Date: February 16, 2006

Pages: 236

Genre: YA Mystery, Upper Middle Grade Mystery 

Synopsis:

Meet Enola Holmes, teenaged girl turned detective and the younger sister to Sherlock Holmes.

When Enola Holmes, sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared, she quickly embarks on a journey to London in search of her. But nothing can prepare her for what awaits. Because when she arrives, she finds herself involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess, fleeing murderous villains, and trying to elude her shrewd older brothers—all while attempting to piece together clues to her mother’s strange disappearance. Amid all the mayhem, will Enola be able to decode the necessary clues and find her mother? 

 

 

 

 

 

Review:

After watching the Netflix adaptation of Enola Holmes, I discovered this book series and decided to start reading it. I was quite impressed with this Sherlock spinoff featuring his much younger sister, Enola. I loved the setting and the author’s attention to detail. The way that she described things, I almost felt as if I were there.

Enola Holmes is the fourteen year-old younger sister of Mycroft and Detective Sherlock Holmes. On the day of her fourteenth birthday, her mother mysteriously vanishes leaving her with only a handmade book of cyphers as a gift. When her two brothers arrive and plan to send her off to a boarding school, Enola quickly makes an escape and heads off to London in search of her mother. After her arrival, she quickly finds herself involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess, fleeing murderous villains, and trying to elude her brothers who are in search of her. She tries to piece together clues to find her mother, while helping the young marquess. Will she be able to decode the necessary clues?

Just wanted to mention that there isn’t a sweet romance in this book like there was in the Netflix adaptation. I have to admit I was a little disappointed in that. Also, I thought this book was more upper middle grade/lower YA than for children. There are some tough topics discussed, such as prostitutes and the shadier aspects of London. I did like that the author explored the ways in which women were treated in Victorian society, and the ways in which both Enola and her mother dealt with them.

If you’re looking for a quick, fast paced mystery/adventure, I think you’ll definitely enjoy this one!

About the Author:

Nancy Springer has passed the fifty-book milestone, having written that many novels for adults, young adults and children, in genres including mythic fantasy, contemporary fiction, magical realism, horror, and mystery — although she did not realize she wrote mystery until she won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America two years in succession. DARK LIE, recently released from NAL, is her first venture into mass-market psychological suspense.
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Nancy Springer moved with her family to Gettysburg, of Civil War fame, when she was thirteen. She spent the next forty-six years in Pennsylvania, raising two children (Jonathan, now 38, and Nora, 34), writing, horseback riding, fishing, and birdwatching. In 2007 she surprised her friends and herself by moving with her second husband to an isolated area of the Florida panhandle, where the birdwatching is spectacular and where, when fishing, she occasionally catches an alligator.