Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (Enola Holmes, 7)

I sincerely hope that it will continue. The characterization is smoothly consistent to descriptions of Mr Holmes and Dr Watson and Enola is a strong, intelligent yet amusing heroine.

Its a good book like the others in the series, giving a certain wittiness and feminine independency.

Apparently, this particular series has taken the young adult world by storm. I didn’t even know if its existence until I read about a Netflix series with the same name. It was around the same time that I remembered I had this book on my TBR shelf (it was from a Goodreads giveaway, I’m embarrassed that it took me so long to read it, my apologies). I picked it up in November of 2022 when one of the selection for my book club was: “a book set in the 1800s.” I’m a big fan of young adult books, and I’m fully supportive of each and every adult that enjoys reading them. Young adult books have been some of the best stories I’ve ever read, and they continue to engage both young readers and adults alike. They are stellar examples of literature and should be considered as such, no matter how old the reader happens to be. Embrace whatever books you enjoy reading. One of the reasons I find them so compelling is how influential they have the potential to be. Most adult avid readers can easily pinpoint the book that opened their world to books. I have a couple, but the first that comes to mind is Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. That one stuck with me for quite some time, even after I forgot what the book was about, I recall that I really enjoyed it. Because of that book, I kept looking for good books, finding authors like Lois Duncan and eventually Stephen King. I’ve been a reader ever since. Now that you’ve survived my lecture on the importance of young adult novels, I can tell you that I didn’t exactly love this one. I had to consistently remind myself that the time it was set in means I’m likely going to read about misogyny, but that didn’t help much. I had a really hard time with the “women are helpless” theme, which was prevalent even after the women in the book proved they were far from helpless. Again, this book is set in the late 1800s in England, so it shouldn’t have angered me like it did. Enola proves her worth many times, which at least provides the message that women do, indeed, persevere. I was particularly impressed with the vocabulary in this book. Teachers are constantly searching for books that can help expand the vocabulary of their students, but when they are always searching books in the middle-level and young adult categories, the search is often futile. Those books cater to kids, so they won’t have the more advanced words the kids need to be exposed to. This book is full of those words…so many words…I found myself reaching for my dictionary (which is conveniently located on my phone at dictionary.com, it’s free too!). It’s also a good series to help those young adults understand the history of the time period. This book, which is not the first in the series so I assume all of them have similar themes, can help to open conversations about history and social change. This is a decent example of middle-level literature, with a strong female lead and great structure. For those who are interested, it would also be a great way to help compare print and non-print versions of the same story. Read this series, watch the Netflix show, then talk about the differences and similarities. While it’s not the best example of young adult literature, it’s not terrible.

It does a cruel and horrid disservice to the Enola Holmes series to classify them as YA. They're wonderful and engrossing even if you're an old geezer like myself.

I was first introduced to Enola Holmes by a movie on Netflix and wanted to read the book. The movie was good, but the books spelled out what happened so much better. Just the synopsis at the front of the book told me almost as much as the movie did. Don't get me wrong! The movies are great and well worth watching, but this book told me so much more. The characters are fascinating and Sherlock "sounds" exactly like Basil Rathbone in all his movies. The author does his "tone" perfectly. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the rest of them.

Loved every moment of this book! Nancy Springer is an excellent writer. The Enola Holmes movies on Netflix are also intriguing!

London, 1889: As the much younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, Enola Holmes is no stranger to deductive reasoning. Enola's investigative skills served her well while dodging Sherlock's attempts to find her in the wake of her mother's disappearance.Now, at fifteen, Enola lives happily alone at her club in London and is prepared to take on clients of her own. If only anyone would go to a girl for an investigative assistance. Lacking cases of her own, Enola is free to assist Miss Letitia Glover when Sherlock's melancholia prevents him from doing so.When Miss Glover receives news of her twin sister Felicity's death, she knows immediately that something is terribly wrong. Letitia is certain that she would sense--would know--if her sister was dead. She does not. Furthermore, the Earl of Dunhench's note about his wife's demise is curt to the point of being suspicious. Then there's the matter of the death certificate being signed by none other than Dr. John H. Watson--who Enola has on authority has no knowledge of Felicity, alive or dead.Looking into the the Earl soon reveals that Felicity is not his first dead wife. As Enola learns more about the Earl's household and a mysterious black barouche, Enola will need all of her wits (and some of Sherlock's besides) to solve the case and uncover the Earl's secrets in Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (2021) by Nancy Springer.Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche starts a new cycle for Enola Holmes--a character who recently gained popularity and renewed interest thanks to the 2020 Netflix film starring Millie Bobby Brown as Enola and Henry Cavill as Sherlock. Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche is the seventh volume in this series but can also serve as an entry point for new readers. The events of books one through six are succintly explained to readers in a prologue narrated by Sherlock (he returns for an epilogue to wrap the story) before shifting to Enola's narration. Recurring characters like Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether who played a major role in previous installments are also introduced with quick recaps. All characters are presumed white.Fans of audiobooks will be well served by this title, as narrated by Tamaryn Payne and Christopher Bonwell, which brings Enola's Victorian England vividly to life.Enola is a sharply intelligent and capable main character who is pleasantly aware of her own capabilities. Enola's penchant for investigation translates to a fast-paced and richly detailed narrative as Springer describes everything from Enola's surroundings to the clues key to unraveling the case. Unlike her brother, Enola enjoys the finer things in life and is happy to regale readers with details of her wardrobe and her meals carefully woven into the narrative. These touches lend a unique flavor to Enola's mysteries even with her similarities to Sherlock (and appearances by the great detective and Dr. Watson).Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche is a welcome return for a literary sibling now famous in her own right; a must read for fans of Sherlock Holmes retellings and reinterpretations as well as readers of historical mysteries.Possible Pairings: Sherlock, Lupin and Me: The Dark Lady Book by Irene Adler, Death Cloud by Andrew Lane, The Case of the Missing Moonstone by Jordan Stratford, The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood

I came into knowledge of these books after watching the series on Netflix. These stories are good and very well written. Looking forward to reading more.

Great story. My daughter loves these books

Desde qué compré este libro lo he querido devolver porque tardaba mucho en llegar. Ahora qué lo tengo viene pintado y con posits. Vergonzoso.

Brought as a gift

Even though I am much too old to still be reading Enola Holmes, I enjoyed this new installment very much!As a kid I devoured all of the Enola Holmes books and was very sad when the series came to an end.Thus, I was very happy, when I saw that Nancy Springer had written a new Enola Holmes book. This installment has all the things I so enjoyed in the previous books: some mystery, detailed clothing descriptions, interesting characters, enjoyable humour, ...I am looking forward to reading the next two installments!

Great fun though, of course, totally and utterly improbable. Good story that moves along well while keeping the reader involved. Can't wait for the pending next novels.As usual - and to be expected- lots of anachronisms in behaviour of the protagonists, but what is less acceptable in a book which typically tries to set the scene with language and manners of the 19th century is the use of late 20th/21st century vocabulary in everyday speech.