Plot or Premise

Mycroft and Sherlock have a dead father, an aging mother who banished them, and a much younger sister. When Mom goes missing, Mycroft and Sherlock arrive to take charge, but Enola has things well in hand, thank you very much.

What I Liked

The matter-of-fact explanation of why the two brothers are long absent, and the brief overviews of both Mom and Dad’s tendencies and personalities go a long way in explaining the origins of both Mycroft and Sherlock. Both appear as caricatures of their own literary selves, literally in one sense, but Enola herself is quite charming as a young teen venturing out on her own for the first time. It has a bit of a part Holmes/part Nancy Drew feel to it, not quite as structured as a Holmes story with a bit of adventure a la Nancy Drew. One habit she has seems more Hercule Poirot than Sherlock, however. While the story is written for the young adult market, it is quite readable for an adult.

What I Didn’t Like

The explanation of what happened to Mom is quite basic, a mere hint from Sherlock in another conversation, but with little to explain the timing. And there are things that are “afoot” at two distinct places in time for a number of weeks each where Enola is doing something, all summed up in a short 2-3 paragraphs, but leaving out much of the “character” growth that would go with those activities.

The Bottom Line

A good story, but not quite Holmesian