Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche

by Nancy Springer

Overview

"A young girl who is empowered, capable, and smart...the Enola Holmes book series convey an impactful message that you can do anything if you set your mind to it, and it does so in an exciting and adventurous way."—Millie Bobby Brown

Enola Holmes is back! Nancy Springer's nationally bestselling series and breakout Netflix sensation returns to beguile readers young and old in Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250822956
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/31/2021
Series:	Enola Holmes Series , #7
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	92,927
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

NANCY SPRINGER is the author of the nationally bestselling Enola Holmes novels, including The Case of the Missing Marquess, which was made into the hit Netflix movie, Enola Holmes. She is the author of more than 50 other books for children and adults. She has won many awards, including two Edgar Awards, and has been published in more than thirty countries. She lives in Florida.

Editorial Reviews

"This latest novel continues the chronicle of this capable, ingenious, and fiercely independent young woman." —Booklist

"An altogether delightfully engaging romp about Victorian London...Enola’s voice is wholly charming, prone to just the right bit of humorous snark." —Kirkus Reviews


Praise for Nancy Springer:

"Flat-out among the best mysteries being written for young people today." —Booklist (starred review) on The Case of the Gypsy Goodbye

"Sweet god, how I love these books!...the best Sherlock Holmes series for kids I've ever been lucky enough to read." —School Library Journal

"Enola is clever, intelligent, indomitable, and plucky...with precise characterization, fast pacing and keen observation." —Kirkus Reviews on The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets

From the Publisher

08/01/2021

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

School Library Journal

2021-06-16
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)

Kirkus Reviews