Enola always did quite well on her own. With Sherlock, she does even better.
To say I was excited about the latest installment in the Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer is rather an understatement. I bought and re-read all the original books to refresh my memory, and enjoyed them as thoroughly as I had as a teen. When I finally cracked open the Black Barouche, the blurb on the inside cover was intriguing, and I was hooked.
For the first time, we see an opening written by none other than Sherlock, our favorite (male) detective, and true to Sherlock’s character, it’s full of fact and dry humor, successfully taking us quickly through the happenings of books one through six, leading us up to where Black Barouche starts, where Enola takes over again as narrator.
Also for the first time, we see Enola going out in her day to day life undisguised, which not only is oddly refreshing, but gives us another side to her character as we learn how she chooses to dress and do in her spare time now that she no longer is on the run from her brothers.
The first encounter we come across, through Enola, is Dr. Watson, who has come to Enola out of concern for Sherlock. While it’s been briefly referenced a number of times, this is the first time we go a little more in depth into the fact that Sherlock suffers from melancholia–persistent bouts of depression. Enola marches herself to 221b Baker Street, and we see how Sherlock behaves while impaired by depression.
I felt that Ms. Springer’s representation was pretty spot-on, both an excellent and emotional account of how despondent one can become when suffering from a mental illness such as depression. Enola’s way of dealing with it, while not the most conventional, did effectively put across that, in their newfound sibling-like relationship, she was not going to just let him hide away forever.
In walks Tish Glover, in search of her missing twin–more precisely, her recently reported deceased twin, Felicity Dunhench. Miss Glover, while adamant that her twin is not deceased, carries with her the ashes she was sent from cremation. While questions arise as to why a Lady would be cremated and correspondence so brief, Enola and Sherlock examine the ashes to find they are not human. An intriguing case right off the bat!
Enola looks for information on the Dunhench family at the Basilweather grounds–in other words, the return of Tewky! Tewky was last seen in Enola’s first book, the Missing Marquess, and while both he and Enola have since grown up, their banter is much the same, clever and fluid, quick to tease. Throughout the book, the descriptions of locations and outfits are fantastic–it made envisioning each scene so much easier, to where it happened simply by reading the words, without any thought. Picturing Enola skulking around Basilweather Hall with a candle and frilly nightgown, snooping in the library with Tewky, was incredibly simple and joyous to do so.
Moving along, it was also really cool to see Enola and Sherlock working together, both disguised and undisguised, as well as to see their relationship as siblings grow; and, while Enola did, as her mother always said, do quite well on her own, having Sherlock there to help out was great.
Lady Dunhench immediately seemed like an interesting character, even without her being present. Enola’s descriptions of Lady Dunhench’s watercolor paintings was beautiful, especially when they formed as images in my mind–plus, cleverly thought out hidden messages? Yes, please, Ms. Dunhench! Her husband, Lord Caddie, was, as predicted, incredibly self-centered and brutish, which right away made me think he was up to no good.
There were some rather horrifying descriptions of Bedlam and its patients, where Enola and Tish toured to get an idea for where Felicity might be; Enola visits some people and snoops some more, and upon conference with Sherlock and Tewky, finds out that not only was Felicity sent away to a mental institution, but his first wife was as well (and she has since passed from illness there). All this prompts Enola’s wild scheme in which they endeavor to learn the name of the mental institution that Felicity was actually sent to–an extravagant, dangerous plan that requires a lot of planning and assistance. Tewky’s willingness to help with this scheme is admirable, as is Dr. Watson’s, though on a slightly lesser scale due to his previous adventures with Sherlock.
Enola, Sherlock, Tewky and Dr. Watson make rather an amusing and intriguing group of detectives, yet this too is very easily envisioned and enjoyed, though it’s the cottage Dr. Watson procured for their scheme that convinced me, this book should be turned into a movie, with no detail spared. Tish’s portrayal of an angry Flossie, straight from the insane asylum, was terrifyingly well-written, with a satisfactory closing to the case and equally satisfactory epilogue by Sherlock.
On a side note, Tewky and Enola’s relationship is wonderful, and several times I found myself wondering if they would perhaps marry in a future book, or if she was rather a closeted lesbian, as she seemed particularly interested in Tish Glover. This, however, could only be known at present by the author herself, so alas, I have no more to add on this subject.
All things considered here, I decided this was a ten of ten star read, and I just learned that a new book is indeed being released this year, so, well done to Ms. Springer, and I am excited for the upcoming release.
SheReadsWorlds 