Where I Happily Get Embroiled In One More Holmes Series

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoy all kinds of Holmes retellings and embellishments, and when Netflix adapted Enola Holmes as a movie I really liked it--hadn't heard of the series before--but that meant it was time to read the original.

I liked this well enough. It was cute, a fast story, and I enjoyed reading it, though somewhat less than I hoped. TBH, it seems a little thin, with much less happening than I expected. (The movie tricked me a little.) I can't knock it for having YA pacing, but I was sorry that Enola doesn't display the confidence and competence I thought she would. I suspect that's coming; it looks like the series follows a long arc, which will give her character time to develop. But much of the fun in Sherlock Holmes stories is when the character makes leaps of deduction or displays an amazing breadth of knowledge. Enola has one such moment, and I hoped for more.

Anyway, it's cleverly written, the character is likable, and there's lots of room for sequels. It leans toward cozy mystery, but there is still a decent amount of action, so I suspect the future novels will have a similar balance. I'm looking forward to testing that theory.

Recommended for Sherlock Holmes fans with wide tastes and for YA readers in general.

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