The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets: An Enola Holmes Mystery [Hardcover]

Heaves above, how I love these books! Sorry. That's not something a professional reviewer should start off by saying is it? I should probably be coy about my opinions. I should couch my language with faint praise saying sniffy little things like, "It seems that Ms. Springer has truly found an oeuvre that will suit some out there". My review would nod its head at her other books and series and then end with constructive criticism along the lines of, "Certainly children in search of mysteries will have no problems with Ms. Springer's popular choices." Well, forget it. I can't be all detached and restrained when I'm talking about Enola Holmes. The fact of the matter is that I can't get enough of her. From the minute I read her first story The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery, I was hooked. Now we're on Enola's third caper, The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets, and things are heating up. Whether you've been reading these books faithfully from the start, or have just dropped into this series without seeing its predecessors, this is one Enola Holmes mystery that is bound to mystify, confound, and delight.

A lot has changed for Enola Holmes in the last few months, but one thing certainly hasn't. She's still on the run from her older brothers Mycroft and Sherlock and she still needs to keep them at bay until she comes of age and can legally live on her own. Of course there's the small problem that she's been making her living by posing as the secretary of a detective, but now her cover's been blown and she needs to figure out what to do with herself. Top it all off with her sudden fear that her mother doesn't love her and Enola's in a pretty deep funk. Deliverance comes in the form of Dr. Watson. Or rather, the lack of Dr. Watson. Someone has kidnapped Sherlock Holmes' right-hand man, and Enola immediately is on the case. Her newest disguise? She'll become something her brothers would never expect her to be. She'll become beautiful. Armed with a pretty face, a knowledge of The Language of the Flowers, and her own common sense, Enola sets out to find the good doctor and maybe figure out some things about her own life along the way.

I think that it was the School Library Journal review of one of Enola's books that pointed out that it is Enola's loneliness combined with her, "intelligence, sense of humor, and sheer pluck," that makes her such an appealing character. That's very insightful. Though she may try to hide it behind make-up and wigs, Enola is essentially a lonely person. She hasn't a confidant in the world, and this weighs on her. She doesn't even entirely realize it either. Fortunately, this isn't a teenager prone to sulks. The combination of code breaking, multiple clues, and a straightforward if intriguing mystery makes this a particularly delightful read. Plus I just love the sense of a larger story arc present in this series. There's some ultimate resolution on the horizon. Some grand view of this tale that will resolve Enola's essential loneliness and heal the rift between her and Sherlock. It'll probably bring her closer to her mother as well, perhaps. I don't know. All we can do is keep reading to find out.

These books work as well as they do partly because just as Enola is thwarting her time period's conventions, so too is Nancy Springer thwarting her genre's. Any other author out there would have dressed Enola up as a boy first thing and probably would have done the same in all her subsequent novels. This is a kind of laziness on an author's part. I'm sorry, but if you're writing a historical novel, fantasy or straight fiction, and your heroine needs a disguise, somehow the act of pulling on a pair of trousers instantly makes her into ideal boy material. It's an easy out for an author, requiring little thought on their part. This is why I love Nancy Springer. In this book, Enola says that when she first ran away from home her brothers, "had quite expected to find me disguised as a boy; to their way of thinking, how else could such an unfortunately plain female possibly manage?" So does she finally cave in and put on some pants? No sir! Instead she goes 180 degrees in the opposite direction and becomes utterly lovely. It's the last thing anyone would expect, particularly the reader, and serves as a stroke of genius on the author's part. Bravo.

Little spoiler alert in this paragraph: There is the matter of the villain of this piece engaging in a bit of (to quote Sherlock Holmes) "George Sandism". So the fear might be that this is a negative reflection of lesbians or cross-dressers, but I think Springer's cleverer than that. The bad guy in this book is evil because of what they do, and that has no connection to their preference for pants. Something to watch out for though.

When girls come into my library looking for good mysteries along the lines of Nancy Drew, the pickings are sometimes slimmer than you'd expect. There are the Wendelin Van Draanen stories about Sammy Keyes. There's good old Trixie Belden (who was the preferred sleuth of my childhood). And now there is Enola Holmes, who seems to have more wit, sense, and skills than any other sleuthy heroine I've run across in an age. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets is a strong addition to a great series and it is the best Sherlock Holmes series for kids I've ever been lucky enough to read.

Without the wig --- and without the inserts I used to round out my cheeks and nostrils --- I was a sharp-faced, hawk-nosed, sallow-skinned female version of my brother Sherlock.

Indeed --- although I knew the undertaking would involve a tremendous amount of work --- I would disguise myself in the last way that either Sherlock or Mycroft could possibly ever envision.

I would be beautiful.

The little sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes is no fool. She will not allow her brothers to put her in some finer institution for young ladies to be transformed "via singing lessons and similar vapors, into an ornament for genteel society." Based on the fact that she is female and without rights, they could force her into a boarding school, a convent or even an asylum. Instead, Enola (which backwards spells "alone") chooses to continue life on her own terms --- independent, inquisitive, bright, ready for adventures and definitely "alone." Being a young woman in the 1890s puts her at the mercy of society and her well-intentioned brothers. No thank you very much!

When she reads that the beloved Dr. Watson (Sherlock's partner and popular author of all those Sherlock stories) is nowhere to be found, Enola springs into action. She has managed to find missing people before, and this is an especially important challenge. Officially, she considers herself to be a Perditorian, "a professional seeker of missing persons." Having managed to solve other mysteries --- such as the ones in THE CASE OF THE MISSING MARQUESS and THE CASE OF THE LEFT-HANDED LADY --- she sets about deciding on a disguise (something Sherlock unwittingly taught her) and a name. They would never recognize her mousiness behind the blond wig and frills.

Once in full disguise and under the pretense of a former patient, Enola calls on Dr. Watson's distraught wife. While there, she observes a strange bouquet made up of poppies, asparagus, hawthorn and bindweed (convolvulus). Knowing the language of flowers as well as their botany, Enola comes to realize that this bouquet holds a definite message connected to the good doctor's disappearance.

Throughout the dangerous investigations that involve any number of hair-raising encounters, Enola proves herself to be resourceful and cool under the most pressing of situations. Climbing the side of a building, deciphering strange codes and risking her life time and again, she does not let her heavy skirts hold her back. With amazing balance, she charges into the thick of this adventure and is able to prove to both her brothers and herself that a girl can meet any challenges a boy can.

While THE CASE OF THE BIZARRE BOUQUETS is packed with terrific adventure, there is also a wealth of historical information, especially dealing with women's place in the society. Enola is the Nancy Drew of her day --- only more challenged because of her circumstance. While she does not understand some of the conflicts between herself and her brothers, Mycroft and Sherlock love their little sister and know she is a brilliant detective. But still, is she safe from their notions about a woman's place? Even for those who have not picked up the previous books, this third Enola mystery reads fresh and familiar. Everyone will be rooting for our heroine as she tries to make the world a better place for all --- most especially women.

--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts

Nancy Springer is finding her stride. Far from being derivative, Springer has effectively used the fame and atmosphere of the much-loved Holmes canon as a springboard to develop her Enola Holmes character, Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes' younger sister, and to create a series that is exciting, entirely innovative, appealing and quite capable of standing on its own literary merit ... thank you very much!

Beginning with the very first mystery in the series, THE CASE OF THE MISSING MARQUESS, we have seen Enola Holmes' character develop, blossom and ultimately flourish as she pursues her career as a "perditorian" - a finder of lost things. She is forced to keep one eye constantly looking over shoulder as she deftly eludes the dogged pursuit of her elder brothers who seek to find her and place her in the stultifying environment of a school for proper young ladies - an ongoing problem she'll face until she reaches the age of majority and can legally live on her own. But, as her mother, who is also in hiding, was so fond of saying, Enola Holmes is doing very well on her own!

In THE CASE OF THE BIZARRE BOUQUETS, the third instalment in the series, Watson has been kidnapped and is being held incommunicado in a mental institution. If he is not found and released, the likelihood is that Watson will lose the battle to preserve his own sanity and become a permanent resident. For reasons that are quite mysterious, the kidnapper has chosen to communicate with Mrs Watson through the vehicle of floral bouquets with entirely unique combinations of flowers, weeds and even vegetables. But a grieving Mrs Watson and a frustrated Sherlock Holmes are not even aware that these "bizarre bouquets" constitute a message from the kidnapper. They believe them to be mere expressions of sympathy from anonymous friends who are worried about Dr Watson's continuing absence. With her intimate knowledge of the traditional symbolic meaning of flowers, Enola knows better and is hot on the scent of Dr Watson and his kidnapper.

I'm thrilled to witness this charming young adult series continue to grow in quality - deep characterization, effective dialogue, high quality plotting and, of course, wonderful attention to Victorian atmosphere and details that rivals Conan Doyle's original series. Sherlock and Mycroft are portrayed as typical 19th century men in their attitude toward women and whatever intellect they may possess. That is to say, they are at least patronizing and chauvinist and perhaps, in Mycroft's case, downright misogynist. As the title character and the leading lady in the series, Enola is exceptionally well developed. She exemplifies that baffling and ultimately paradoxical teenage blend of cock-sure bravado and angst and uncertainty; incipient adulthood contrasted against an occasional reversion to childhood fear; and, of course, self-direction and self-confidence versus the obvious desire for occasional adult guidance and assistance. Enola's budding femininity is also charmingly and endearingly presented in wonderfully good taste with all due regard to Victorian sensibilities.

Highly recommended for mystery lovers of all ages. I'm willing to bet that twenty years from now there will be a host of adult female readers who will look back on this series with the same fondness that many of today's adult women remember their love of the Nancy Drew series.

Paul Weiss