Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels: The Case Of The Missing Marquess, The Case Of The Left-Handed Lady, And The Case Of The Bizarre Bouquets: Volume 1

This book brings together Serena Blasco’s graphical adaptations of the first three Nancy Springer novels featuring Sherlock’s younger sister Enola. Those who have read the original series might know that each of the first six books of the series contains one mystery for Enola to be solved, and at the same time, there is a larger narrative connecting them all and resolved only at the end of the sixth book. Thus, this collection has an incomplete ending in a sense as books 4-6 aren’t part of it. But whatever is covered in the book is enough to hook you.The three stories in this book are:1. The Case of the Missing Marquess2. The Case of the Left-Handed Lady3. The Case of the Bizarre BouquetsWhere the books clicked for me:❤ The book includes some serious topics within its content, such as women’s suffrage, societal compulsions about ‘proper’ women’s behaviour and appearance, poverty, class discrimination, and so on.❤ At the end of each of the stories, there are excerpts of Enola’s secret notebook. This makes for an interesting addition as it reveals Enola’s thoughts and modi operandi through her doodles.❤ The writing style is pretty quick-paced and help the story move further clearly and quickly.❤ The illustrations are very good, painted in a watercolour-like effect, lending a light-hearted and dreamy quality to the tense subject matter. The main characters (except one key character) are drawn in a way suiting their personalities. I especially loved Sherlock’s and Enola’s upturned noses, thereby uniting them not just as siblings but also as two stubborn individuals who refused to see any way except their own.Where the book didn’t click for me:💔 As in almost every detective fiction, it is the main detective – Enola in this case – who finds out everything related to the mysteries. While I find this tough to digest even in regular detective stories (one reason I avoid the genre), it is even more unbelievable this time as the highly capable Sherlock Holmes is also part of the narrative. How is it possible that Sherlock has hardly any clue of what’s happening while Enola racks up the solutions and solve the case?💔 Again, as in almost every detective fiction, clues conveniently present themselves whenever Enola is around. There are too many coincidences to be believable.💔 I would have preferred a bit of variety in the mysteries. All three dealt with missing persons, and even the overarching mystery is about Enola’s missing mother. Though the resolutions were quite distinct, it still felt a bit repetitive after a while.💔 The story development is quite abrupt at times. For instance, when Enola first leaves her house, it is only to find her mother. Why then would she abandon that search midway and go looking for another missing boy instead? It seemed silly.💔 I loved Mark Gatiss’s portrayal of Mycroft in the BBC Sherlock series. According to Watson’s narration in the original Sherlock books, Mycroft is supposed to be tall and portly, similar to Sherlock in appearance though larger in build. So Mycroft’s physical appearance in this book was very, very disappointing to me.All in all, the books were quick, fun, but one-time reads for me. Detective fiction fans or even fans of the Enola Holmes series might enjoy it a lot more. At the same time, the books kept me hooked enough to know what’s going to happen next.. As they are aimed at children/teenagers, they surely fulfil their purpose well for their target readers.3.5 stars from me.Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book at my request and these are my honest thoughts about it.

My daughter watched the Netflix movies of Enola Holmes and loved them. She really enjoys graphic novels so I knew she would absolutely love this book!

Sherlock Holmes has a younger sister. The whole idea of the original stories is that Sherlock is a maverick disowned by his family. Provided a stipend to make sure he didn't starve but they didn't want to be associated with this ridiculous private detective idea. So the idea that he can't accept a younger sister not being interested in playing society's idea of a proper girl or deal with a mother who also won't accept society's expectations doesn't really fit. His fascination with "the woman" also doesn't fit with this idea.But other than that the art s quite good and the stories decent enough. Don't expect anything you can't figure out yourself.

This novel is a great read and the artwork is pretty darn good too.The language of flowers is a nice touch.I would definitely buy book 2.And there were 3 stories.Excellent value.

Bought both part 1 and 2 for my 6 year old 1st grade granddaughter whose learning to read. Makes it more fun and the pictures help her figure out some of the words she's not familiar with yet. She enjoys the story and reads at least a chapter a day.

My daughter loved this, she found it difficult to engage with the novels but loves the graphic novel format. The stories are exciting and very well constructed. I will buy the next episode when it comes out.