Hello! I’m here to contribute to the blog tour for an exciting addition to a well-loved historical mystery series by bringing you an excerpt! **And every day we are reminded that discrimination against marginalized communities is still a serious problem, so click here to find a compilation of resources where you can donate your time, money, or whatever you can to support these communities. I still encourage you to research these causes on your own to educate yourself and find the best way to lend your support.**
The folks over at Wednesday Books have invited me once again to be a part of their blog tour, and I cannot express how immensely grateful I am to take part (if you want to check out my previous blog tour post, an excerpt for Hurricane Summer, you can check it out here). This time around I’ll be sharing an excerpt of the newest addition in the YA mystery Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer – Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche, which releases in the U.S. on August 31st, 2021. The series began with The Case of the Missing Marquess in 2006, which follows a young Enola Holmes who, after discovering her mother has disappeared, disguises herself as a grieving widow and travels to the heart of London to find clues, all while eluding her older brother, Sherlock. A movie adaptation based on this first book was made and released on Netflix in 2020, staring Millie Bobby Brown as Enola, and a sequel is slated for production. While you might be better acquainted with the characters if you have read the previous six books, Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche has been called a great entry point, and you can read it without delving into the backstory if you so desire.
The story follows Enola Holmes, the younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, but do not let her age fool you. At fifteen she has all the wits, skills, and sleuthing abilities as her brothers, and is quite the independent individual living on her own in London. When she is visited by a young professional woman, Miss Letitia Glover, Enola is tasked with uncovering the fate of her twin sister. Felicity (or “Flossie” for short) had been happily married to the Earl of Dunhench, but when Letitia receives a letter sparsely detailing her sister’s demise, along with an urn of ashes, she refuses to believe it as truth. It is up to Enola to decipher the true meaning of the Earl’s letter, and his intentions with Flossie, and to do that she will need the help of her brother, their colleague Dr. Watson, Letitia Glover herself, and a dear friend young Viscount Tewkesbury, the Marquess of Basilwether.
Please enjoy this excerpt from chapter 5 of Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche:
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“Is she fainted?”
Indignant, I wanted to sit up and say I was not so easily killed and I never fainted, but to my surprise my body would not obey me. I merely stirred and murmured.
“She’s moving.”
I saw the clodhopper boots of common men surrounding me and smelled alcohol on the breath of those leaning over me.
“Let’s get ‘er inside.”
“Somebody go fer the doctor.”
Strong hands, not ungentle, seized me by the feet and shoulders. I could have kicked and yelled—I felt strong enough now—but my mind had started to function, realizing that I was about to be carried into a pub, for only in a public house, or pub, would workmen be drinking in the daytime. And normally no woman of good repute would enter a pub, or if she did, she would be jeered at until she retreated. But, my avid brain realized, fate in the form of Jezebel had given me opportunity to spend some time inside a pub—no, in the pub, most likely the only pub in Threefinches! So I closed my eyes and pretended to be rather more helpless than I was as the men hauled me inside and laid me down on a high-backed bench by the hearth.
Someone brought something pungent in lieu of smelling salts, but I shook my head, pushed the malodourous hand away, opened my eyes, and sat up, acting as if it were a great effort for me to do so. A burly, bearded man in an apron, undoubtedly the publican who kept the place, came running with a pillow for my back, and I thanked him with a gracious smile.
“Will ye have a nip of brandy, lydy?”
“No, thank you. Water, please.”
“Jack! Water for the lydy!” he bellowed to some underling, and he remained nearby as I managed, with hands that genuinely trembled, to remove my gloves. Their thin kidskin leather was ruined by the mauling it had taken from Jezebel’s reins, and my hands were red and sore; doubtless they would bruise. Grateful for the cool glass, I held it in both hands and sipped, looking around me. Half of the denizens of the place, like the owner, stood in a semicircle staring at me not unpleasantly, while the rest did the same from seats at the rustic tables—all but one. A tall man with beard stubble on his chin and quite a shock of coarse brownish-grey hair hiding his forehead had withdrawn to a table by the wall, where he devoted his attention to his mug of ale, or stout, or whatever noxious brew he might fancy. I said brightly to the tavern-keeper, “I believe I would like to stand up.”
“Now, why not wait for the doctor, lydy–“
But taking hold of his arm, as he stood within my reach, I got to my feet with reasonable steadiness. There were muted cheers from the onlookers. Nodding and simpering at the men all around me, I lilted, “Thank you so much. Do you suppose anyone could go out and fetch my bag, and my hat and parasol? I believe they fell along the—”
Already half a dozen would-be heroes were stampeding towards the door. Yet, if I had walked in here under my own power, any request for help would have been met with deepest suspicion. Such is life: odd.
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I’ve just finished my copy, and I’ll say that this was a rather enjoyable read. I hadn’t read the rest of the series, but during the prologue we get narration from Sherlock detailing some of the adventures Enola has been on in previous installments, which helped establish her character for me pretty early on. I appreciated how headstrong and independent Enola was, for such a young girl she did not hesitate while placing herself in danger if it meant finding a clue or discovering the truth. She did not allow others to make her feel inadequate, and was always the first person to dispel any doubts from her partners in crime. It did take me awhile to adjust to the writing style, as I don’t often read books that take place in a historical setting, but felt the tone was completely appropriate for its time period. I enjoyed the mystery aspect, Enola piecing together exactly what happened to Flossie, but felt the ending was a bit rushed for all the build-up that had been established. Still, I was satisfied with the ending, and am interested to see what adventures are next for these characters.
I’d just like to Wednesday Books once again for inviting me to participate in this blog tour. Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche will be released on August 31st, 2021, which is only a few days away from when this post goes live, and I believe fans of the series and newcomers alike will come to find something to enjoy within this book’s pages. If the excerpt above strikes your interest at all, I highly recommend picking yourself up a copy. *Additionally, thank you to NetGalley for the e-copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Where to find Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche:
Macmillan
Bookshop
Amazon
Goodreads
Nancy Springer’s site
Thoughts About Things 