Synopsis:
Enola Holmes is hiding from the world’s most famous detective—her own brother, Sherlock Holmes. But when she discovers a hidden cache of bold, brilliant charcoal drawings, she can’t help but venture out to find who drew them: young Lady Cecily, who has disappeared from her bedroom without a trace. Braving midnight streets where murderers roam, Enola must unravel the clues—a leaning ladder, a shifty-eyed sales clerk, political pamphlets—but in order to save Lady Cecily from a powerful villain, Enola risks revealing more than she should…
Review:
While reading the first book, I found myself constantly comparing it to the adaptation and being disappointed. However, The Case of the Left-Handed Lady doesn’t have an adaptation, so I found I enjoyed it much more.
The shortness of The Case of the Left-Handed Lady was much needed. I flew through the entire book in less than 24 hours and I really needed that win. The pacing was much better this time round and even though the case felt like a subplot, it was interesting to see how Enola is getting on in London on her own. I couldn’t imagine being 14 and living in London on my own, especially back then as well. She’s got guts, I’ll give her that.
I still think the whimsy of the adaptations are missing from the books. Enola isn’t anywhere near as charming and the cases feel less complex – bearing in mind that these books are for teens (?). I can’t quite figure out the age range as the cover and length suggest younger readers, but the content is more YA sometimes.
I’m also left wondering what happened to Tweksbury. He wasn’t ‘found’ in the previous book and there was zero mention of him in this one. The friendship between him and Enola is what makes the films so great, so where did that come from? Do we meet him again soon or has he been completely forgotten? I would like some answers.
As these books are so short, my reviews are too. There isn’t too much you can talk about for this type of book without giving away the plot. Let’s just say, the twist to solve the case is a little ridiculous, but this is fiction, so who cares?
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