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)

Step aside, Sherlock! Enola Holmes, the famous detective’s brilliant and strong-willed younger sister, takes centre stage in this vibrant and delightfully drawn graphic novel adaptation of the first three volumes of Nancy Springer’s bestselling mystery series.

When fourteen-year-old Enola wakes on her birthday, she discovers that her mother has disappeared from the family’s country manor, leaving only a collection of flowers and a coded message book. With Mycroft (awful) and Sherlock (who also have some backward ideas) determined to ship her off to a boarding school, Enola escapes and investigates their mother’s disappearance on her own. But nothing prepares her for what lies ahead.

Before going any further, I have to summarize show more my feelings. I absolutely love the artwork and plan on buying the book just for the pleasure of looking at and feeling the pages (to all the beautiful pinks and purples!). The top-notch watercolour illustrations and the palette chosen are whimsical, and I enjoyed seeing the excerpts from Enola’s secret notebook at the end of each volume, particularly because of all the extra drawings. But as I got to the end of the book, I felt like the story lacked some depth.

The premise is great, and I got excited, especially because of how the different clues Enola finds are displayed, how she uses botany and secret codes to find them and also sending messages to her mother. But the episodes are rather short and sometimes the mysteries were solved too quickly, with some pretty far-fetched conclusions to tie it up. It probably kept the essence of the books well, though. For me, it was too fast-paced to be immersive.

About the main character, I only have one word to say: outstanding. Well, that’s a lie. She’s exceptional indeed, but I should probably explain why. Enola is just not the average girl. She loves mysteries, knowledge and freedom, reads about Max and is a badass feminist. Commentary on living as a woman in Victorian times abounds. Corsets? That’s a deathtrap! But she finds a positive use for wearing the torture device… And there’s more, so much more. I’m already expecting a sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review. show less

So! Here’s what you need to know first! I haven’t watched ‘Enola Holmes’ on Netflix, I haven’t read any Enola Holmes book before this one, and all I know of ‘Enola Holmes’ is what I saw in the BBC series ‘Sherlock’ starring Benedict Cumberbatch, which isn’t a reliable reference point. I have read every single Sherlock Holmes story, but that doesn’t help much in this case. So this is the perspective of a general reader (and graphic novel lover), not of an Enola Holmes fan-girl. (Just preparing you for why the review is so lacking on gush.

children's/middlegrade graphic fiction - starring 14 y.o. Enola Holmes, the newest detective in London, solving the cases that stump Scotland Yard while evading the oppressive "protection" of her older brothers Sherlock and Mycroft. Based on Nancy Springer's mystery series.

Beautiful illustrations and a very clever spunky heroine (who is compassionate towards the unfortunate and incidentally inclusive towards queer lifestyles one of the "bad guys" is a character who was committed to an asylum for dressing and acting as a man when society demanded they be more ladylike; bonus materials at the end of each chapter/issue feature character sketches and usually an explanation of the cyper/secret code used in that episode. Really well show more done.

August 2024 hoopla bonus borrow (in promotion of the Netflix film)
"A graphic novel adaptation of the hit books that inspired the Netflix film! Sherlock Holmes' brilliant, strong-willed younger sister takes center stage in this delightfully drawn graphic novel based on Nancy Springer's bestselling mystery series.
"Book One in the series includes three thrilling mysteries: The Case of the Missing Marquess, The Case of the Left-Handed Lady, and The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets. At the back of the book, readers can explore a portfolio of pages from Enola's secret notebook!" show less

Fourteen-year-old Enola Holmes' mother disappears, and her older brothers Mycroft and Sherlock descend. When they're unable to solve the mystery of their mother's disappearance, they decide to send Enola to boarding school, but she escapes to London instead and sets up as a "perditorian" (finder of lost people).

1. The Case of the Missing Marquess
2. The Case of the Left-Handed Lady
3. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets

The full-color art is stunning; it looks like watercolor but may be born digital. The panels have rounded corners and no outlines, giving it a loose, artistic feel, but the action is still easy to follow, even through Enola's many disguises. There is some danger and violence, including attempted strangulation, so I've marked show more this YA rather than children's. show less

This is actually three books in one. It covers the first three novels of Enola Holmes and they transfer to graphic novel quite well. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked the artwork but it fits with the style and time period of the story. It’s bright and colorful like the character Enola herself, while still seeming mysterious and intriguing. This was a successful transfer so whether you’ve read the other Enola Holmes books or seen the Netflix movie, either way you’re sure to enjoy this take on the master detective Sherlock Holmes’s sister.

Read The Case of the Missing Marquess in November 2022 and don't wanna continue.

Original review-
Definitely like the movie with Millie Bobby Brown better.
At the start Enola talks about how she has no unique abilities or smarts or anything especially compared to Sherlock, then a few pages later she knows everything and is oh so smart and it just made me go um WTF?

This graphic novel was okay. I like the illustration style. The story was a little boring. Maybe I would prefer the full novel instead of this adaptation. I really liked the recent movie adaptation for this story, however.