ARC Review: Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade by Nancy Springer

Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade
Author: Nancy Springer
Series: Enola Holmes (Book 8)
Publication: Wednesday Books (September 6, 2022)

Description: Enola Holmes, Sherlock's much younger, and feistier, sister, returns in an adventure of a confused young Baronet's daughter who is on the run from her father's devious schemes in Nancy Springer's Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade.

Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of Sherlock, is now living independently in London and working as a scientific perditorian (a finder of persons and things). But that is not the normal lot of young women in Victorian England. They are under the near absolute control of their nearest male relative until adulthood. Such is the case of Enola's friend, Lady Cecily Alastair. Twice before Enola has rescued Lady Cecily from unpleasant designs of her caddish father, Sir Eustace Alastair, Baronet. And when Enola is brusquely turned away at the door of the Alastair home it soon becomes apparent that Lady Cecily once again needs her help.

Affecting a bold escape, Enola takes Lady Cecily to her secret office only to be quickly found by the person hired by Lady Cecily's mother to find the missing girl - Sherlock Holmes himself. But the girl has already disappeared again, now loose on her own in the unforgiving city of London.

Even worse, Lady Cecily has a secret that few know. She has dual personalities - one, which is left-handed, is independent and competent; the other, which is right-handed, is meek and mild. Now Enola must find Lady Cecily again - before one of her personalities gets her into more trouble than she can handle and before Sherlock can find her and return her to her father. Once again, for Enola, the game is afoot.

My Thoughts: The eighth Enola Holmes adventure has Enola coming to the rescue of her friend Lady Cecily Alistair who is being held captive by her father since she won't agree to marry the man of his choice. 

Lady Cecily is an interesting character who was first introduced in The Case of the Left-Handed Lady. She has a split personality. When she is left-handed, she is bold and assertive. When she is right-handed, she is meek and submissive. 

Enola has to fight against law and custom which sees a young woman as subject to her father's authority and without rights of her own to help her friend get the independence and medical help she needs to integrate her two personalities. 

I like that Enola is no longer hiding from her older brothers and, in fact, is consulting with Sherlock about her and sometimes his cases. I like that she is independent and smart and willing to go the distance to help her friend. 

I like the setting and the time period. I appreciate Enola's expansive vocabulary and her sense of adventure. 

Favorite Quote:

Down that inanimate gullet I shot with force that stunned me, body and mind. Apparently, I had not previously given sufficient respect to Sir Isaac Newton's musings on natural philosophy. I had, of course, experience his law of gravity when falling out of trees, but I found it infinitely more puissant and fearsome within the blind confines of the laundry chute. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.