The Case of the Missing Marquess
The Enola Holmes Series
Nancy
Springer
Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-240933-2 (0142409332)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-240933-6 (9780142409332)
Publication Date: November 2007
List Price: $6.99
Review:
Imagine being a young teenager and trying to survive on your own in the
gritty streets of London where burglars and kidnappers roam among you.
That is the story that Nancy Springer tells about Enola Holmes in The Case of the Missing Marquess, which is her first book of her three book series.
The story takes place in London, England during August, 1888. It is a
dark emotional tale of mystery and family turmoil. The main character
is Enola Holmes. She is a 14 year old girl who is distraught because
her mother has vanished on poor Enola’s birthday. Enola has fled
from home because she was about to be sent off to a boarding school by
her older brother Mycroft, since he is now her guardian.
As her journey begins Enola Holmes is dedicated to finding her mother,
but her journey takes a twist when she gets involved with the case of
the missing Marquess of Basilwether. She stumbles upon the whereabouts
of the young Marquess and gets kidnapped along with him. She then has
to escape from the villains and recue the Marquess, while keeping her
brothers clueless about where she is and still having hopes of finding
her mother.
Most of the time The Case of the Missing Marquess
is full of action and very thrilling. The way Enola escaped from her
ride to boarding school was very exciting and vividly told. You could
feel the adrenalin rushing through her as she escaped on her bike.
There were also several unexpected twists in the story like when her
identity was discovered and she had to quickly flee to avoid her family
finding her or when she was taken captive by those who were after the
Marquess. Nancy Springer helps the story along when she shares with us
what’s going through Enola’s head. It helps us follow her
thoughts and feelings.
Other times the book is mildly boring and confusing. It’s boring
when Enola first arrives in the new village and she spends a long time
describing what she sees and when the reader is given background about
the ciphers. It’s confusing and hard to follow how she solves
some of the ciphers and clues that her mother left her. It was also a
bit bewildering as to why the villains kidnapped Enola. There
didn’t seem to be a big benefit for them.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to reading the
next two books in the series. I would recommend this book to others if
they enjoy mystery books with unexpected twists. It is no surprise that
another great mystery series was written by Nancy Springer since she is
a two time recipient of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery.
Review written by Marisa, Age 11, Grade 6. Date of review: October 2008.
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