I saw the clodhopper boots of common men surrounding me and smelled alcohol on the breath of those leaning over me. I can only review this in the context of the previous books in the series, since I read those so many times as a young teen. Although there is a much humor in this novel there are disturbing descriptions of the conditions in insane asylums of the period – nothing we haven’t read before or seen in numerous other period pieces, but disturbing never-the-less. When Enola arrives, she finds Holmes in a dreadful state and is unable to get him moving. That is until Holmes gets a case but Enola takes it instead. Holmes then perks up! This is just what he needed! Enola and Holmes set about to save a woman before it's too late.

I just loved this book and I honestly did not know this series existed and yet here we are at book 7, and I am so excited for this series that I am reading book 1 asap and reading the entire series as a goal before the end of the year. I also saw Enola Holmes in Netflix before reading this and I found them both, the movie and the book quite enjoyable equally. The hansom halted in front of 221 Baker Street. But after we had descended and the cab rattled away, I balked on the pavement, telling Dr. Watson, “I will not go up until I understand what I am to do.” Enola Holmes represents such an integral role for women's progression, especially within the time this novel was set, where women could not rent a room without a chaperone or male relative present. I venerate her free spirit and most of all her unwavering tenacity. Enola is not bound by society’s restraints but a free spirit, a wanderer, a nomad, being able to fit into everywhere but not truly belonging.An energetic and enjoyable heroine with a good storyline makes this a very good series. I plan to introduce our 12-year-old granddaughter to it. Read more Nor did Enola need to be married off. Indeed, heaven help any man who might be so unwary as to wed her. Thank you to Net Galley and Wednesday books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. My opinions are my own and are provided willingly and honestly.* I relished Enola's growth throughout the series, from a young unkempt girl, running around barefoot in the fields of her ancestral home, to a proper young woman with a taste for society's fashions. Enola has managed to integrate the aspects of society she finds pleasing without allowing it to consumer her personality and I admire that. This is a powerful lesson in the ability of young women to chart their own course, their own destiny, without succumbing to the fancies of society.

But I’m glad to have redeemed my mistake. All the previous books are in my TBR now. I may watch the movie, though I’ll read the book first. Already half a dozen would-be heroes were stampeding towards the door. Yet, if I had walked in here under my own power, any request for help would have been met with deepest suspicion. Such is life: odd. Reminders: This book was a fun read, similar in style and pace to the previous books. I think this could be read as a standalone but will be best enjoyed in sequence. Still, the characters hold true, and the mystery was fun to read, but not overly complicated. I think that readers within the age range will enjoy this.

Nancy Springer

Indignant, I wanted to sit up and say I was not so easily killed and I never fainted, but to my surprise my body would not obey me. I merely stirred and murmured. The next day, from shouted conversation through an ear trumpet, I pieced together that the pitiful, deaf, and ancient Mrs. Tupper had been Enola’s landlady, and with some mental excitement I deduced that Enola might visit her at the Nightingale residence. Thereafter I lurked in wait for her, along with a companion named Reginald. Dozens of people entered the Nightingale home daily, and on the lookout for my plain-faced sister, I paid no attention whatsoever to quite a lovely lady in an elaborate cerulean gown of three fabrics—but Reginald, my sister’s longtime pet collie, whined and pulled at the leash! I let him go bounding to her, and could scarcely believe it when the lady greeted the dog with laughter and tears, most unceremoniously sitting on the ground to hug him! When she saw me looking down at her, she smiled up into my face and willingly took my hand to arise. She sensed, I think, that I no longer looked down on her in any other sense of the phrase. This latest novel continues the chronicle of this capable, ingenious, and fiercely independent young woman." -- Booklist

I loved this book! Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this latest (#7) in the Enola Holmes series, by Nancy Springer. I am late to the party since this is the first book it the series that I’ve read, but it works as a stand-alone. Book #6 of the series was published over a decade ago! This new book in the series follows the successful screening of the Enola Holmes Netflix film of 2020. (I must live in a cave with no electricity or internet, otherwise I would not have to wait for my sister to tell me what’s on the telly, whenever we discuss a book that I loved).In 2020 Netflix released an Enola Holmes movie (which I have seen) and in 2022 a second (which I have not). In 2021 Springer rebooted the book series with this novel. I am of course delighted at the resumption of the series, but was also apprehensive that it might have been changed to take after the movie, which is quite different from the books. Flossie simply cannot be gone from this world,” Miss Letitia Glover declares, her eyes wet with emotion. “I would have instantly sensed my loss had she passed away.” I enjoyed the mystery. It wasn’t what so much as where, and it was also a question of how they would ever find the missing sister of their client. The conclusion was a whole lot of fun. In fact, Enola already has ideas for the part she’ll play and the disguise she’ll use to uncover further clues. Her brilliant brother might indeed be the best and most insightful male detective the world has ever known. But women can be insightful and capable, too. Ich hatte etwas Sorge, dass die Autorin durch die lange Zeit vielleicht nicht so gut anknüpfen kann, aber das war unbegründet :)