Marshmallow reviews Enola Holmes: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer

Today Marshmallow reviews the second book in Nancy Springer’s Enola Holmes series: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady, first published in 2007. Sprinkles, who loves detective stories and has already read the first book in the series, is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, tell us about this second book.

Marshmallow: Well, it is another book with Enola Holmes as the main character. This time she is working in London as a detective, or rather a finder of things, under the name of a man. So the man is totally made up ,and she is acting as if she is his assistant because she knows that nobody will hire her if they know she is a woman.

S: I see. That makes sense.

M: Yes. And she uses all these disguises to get answers to questions she could not have gotten otherwise. I thought this was very clever. In fact the whole book is full of clever ideas like this, which made it a very satisfying read.

S: That sounds great Marshmallow! So tell us about the left-handed lady from the title.

M: So there is supposed to be a girl who is “kidnapped” and she is noble so she is a lady.

S: What do you mean by “kidnapped”?

M: Well, people think that she ran away with a guy. So the mystery is not publicized because the family is embarrassed.

S: So they discreetly hire Enola Holmes?

M: Yes, they hire her cover person. And Enola goes to examine the evidence as his assistant, because they would not take her seriously if she were not working for a man. Really annoying!

S: I can see that!

M: She discovers these paintings made by the girl who disappeared. And they lead her to realize that the girl is more interested in socioeconomic issues rather than a man.

S: So that plot sounds nothing like the second Enola Holmes movie.

M: Yes, that is true. They are both about a lost girl but the girl in the movie is not a noblewoman.

S: I understand that the movie version is actually about a real person named Sarah Chapman, who led a women workers’ strike.

M: That sounds really cool! The book is totally fictional, as far as I can tell. But there are a lot of political issues that are mentioned.

S: That sounds neat. I found the first book really easy to read, and it kept my full attention the whole time. Is this second book like that, too?

M: Yes. I did feel the plot was a little bit more complicated however. The other felt more like a game set up, but this was wilder somehow… Still a lot of fun to read!

S: So does that mean you will go on to reading the next book?

M: Yes, I hope to read it and review it next.

S: Sounds great to me! In the meantime, I will happily take this off your hands and read it myself.

M: Sure, you do that, Sprinkles.

S: Okay, so as we wrap this up, how would you rate the book overall?

M: I’d rate it 100%. It is a neat mystery, and the social commentary is very much welcome, too.

S: Great! So what would you like to tell our readers?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies!