Today's read... Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels 4-6 by Serena Blasco

I'm very late with today's read but took this opportunity to also slip in my Joker Read. I did read the first book in this series and loved it. Enola Holmes is brought across with such a free, cheerful, and clever soul that it's hard not to like her in these books. And as a graphic novel, it makes a light read (what I need on busy days like today).

This one comes out in December, so there's plenty of time to get excited about it.

ENOLA HOLMES:

THE GRAPHIC NOVELS, BOOK TWO

by Serena Blasco

Andrews McMeel Publishing

YA Mystery / Graphic Novel

208 pages

COMING...

DECEMBER 6th!!!

In Book 2 of the series, Enola is back on the case, deciphering clues and developing leads in each of three new mysteries. What she doesn’t know is that she, too, is being pursued—by her own brother! Once again, Sherlock Holmes’ brilliant, strong-willed younger sister takes center stage in this delightfully drawn graphic novel based on Nancy Springer’s bestselling mystery series.

London, 1889. A woman is being held prisoner while she awaits a forced marriage. Another has been kidnapped, and yet another disappears…

As Enola seeks to rescue the three women, her brother embarks on a quest of his own. When Sherlock receives a mysterious package, he knows he’ll need Enola’s help to decipher its meaning. In the end, the three Holmes siblings will have to work together to answer the question that started it all: What happened to their mother?
 
Book Two contains three engrossing mysteries: The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan, The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline, and The Case of Baker Street Station.

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60320137-enola-holmes

MY TIDBITS

With three mysteries to be solved, it's a treat to dive into London's streets with Enola Holmes and discover where each missing person might be.

This graphic novel contains three different tales: The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan, The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline, and The Case of Baker Street Station. While each one is it's own story and separated as such, but there's still enough of an overarching plot to keep everything connected. The cases involved known and new characters, and some take interesting, historical twists as well. Enola is a fun character as she packs spunk, independence, and still manages to reflect her time period. Her cleverness, of course, is her strength. She does get herself into some sticky situations, and the solutions aren't what one might think. Her light-hearted nature adds life with a touch of humor, while the cases are serious and the bad guys sinister.

I enjoy the details in the graphics and enjoy the dive into history. Enola's constant costume change and antics come across very well and there's just a touch of humor in the characters to keep each mystery fun. The text is easy to locate and read, giving just the right amount of story before letting the graphics do the rest.

While the mysteries are well-woven and difficult to solve, there's more to these tales than just that. There are some historical figures woven in, cultural notes, detective facts and even more. At the end of each story, several pages are used to go into depth on various topics mentioned during the mystery. For example, there's information about Florence Nightingale, explanations on how to read a certain code, the 'secret' messages behind fan usage at the time, and so on. It's simply a fun novel to dive into, an easy read, and much to discover along the way.