Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche: 01/10/23

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer and Tamaryn Payne (Narrator) (2021) is the seventh book in the Enola Holmes series. Ten years ago I finished reading Enola Holmes and the Case of the Gypsy Good-bye (2010) and was saddened by it being the conclusion of a fun Sherlock Holmes inspired series. Color me surprised in 2021 when I was alerted to a new one in the series!

Over the course of the previous six books, Sherlock and Enola did come to an understanding. By book seven, they are sometimes working together, mostly at Watson's behest. Case in point, Sherlock is in one of his depressive slumps, so Watson is hoping she can bring her brother around.

While Enola is visiting, a woman comes to hire Sherlock, but it's Enola who takes the case. In a set up that at first sounded like Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2020), but ends up being something completely different.

The gist is, the woman's twin sister has unexpectedly died. She and her family are told that her body was too infectious for a normal burial so she had to be cremated. The twin sister doesn't believe a word of this story and hires Enola and Sherlock to find out the truth.

The mystery requires Enola's specialized skills as well as Sherlock's privilege as a man of means. Even Dr. Watson has some sway, being able to leverage his authority and reputation as a doctor.

The eighth book is Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade (2022).

Five stars

Comments (0)