The Case of the Missing MarquessAn Enola Holmes Mystery
Reviewed September 22, 2009.
Philomel Books (Penguin), 2006. 216 pages.
Starred Review
Sonderbooks Stand-out 2009: #5 Other Children's Fiction
I've long heard about the Enola Holmes Mysteries. I'm so glad I finally got around to reading one!
This is the first story of Sherlock Holmes' little sister, Enola. She's something of an embarrassment to the family. She's much younger than Sherlock and Mycroft and doesn't act like a proper young lady at all.
When Enola's mother disappears on her fourteenth birthday, Sherlock and Mycroft arrive to take the estate in hand, and of course get Enola settled in a nice boarding school to become a proper young lady. Enola has other ideas.
Enola is resourceful, and her mother has even left clues to help her. Setting out on her own, in disguise, can Enola elude her brother, the world's greatest detective? Along the way, Enola encounters a case of her own to solve, and she has insights that even great detectives don't have access to.
I'll definitely be reading more Enola Holmes stories. She's feisty, smart, and resourceful. Her perspective on the mysteries around her is refreshingly clear-sighted. And she can outwit Sherlock Holmes!