The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer Review

 Hello Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you've chosen to stop on by The Preppy Book Princes today for another book review.

If you're new here, then welcome! If you've been here before, then welcome back!

I'm Kirby, and I love sharing my love of the written word with you all. I love losing myself in the pages of many amazing literary worlds, and I especially enjoy Christian fiction, although I do read across a wide variety of genres.

One of those genres is middle grade, and I recently finished a title from this genre that I wanted to share with you all.

I hope you'll all keep on reading down below for today's full review.

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer:

Source: Libby App

Publisher: Philomel

Publication Date: February 16th, 2006

Genre: Middle Grade/Mystery/Historical Fiction

Series: Enola Holmes

Synopsis:

When Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared—and on her 14th birthday, to make matters worse—she knows she alone can find her. Disguising herself as a grieving widow, Enola sets out to the heart of London to uncover her mother’s whereabouts—but not even the last name Holmes can prepare her for what awaits.

Suddenly involved in the kidnapping of the young Marquess of Basilwether, Enola must escape murderous villains, free the spoiled Marquess, and perhaps hardest of all, elude her shrewd older brother—all while collecting clues to her mother’s disappearance!

Infused with the voice and atmosphere of Victorian London's rat-infested streets, this suspenseful and witty novel brings mystery lovers the genre at its best.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I'm going to preface this review by straight up admitting that I knew nothing about this series prior to the Netflix adaptations. I was also late to the party with the movies however as well, only stumbling upon them during the late fall of 2023 when I was home sick from work, and looking for something to watch. Since I often find the content in Netflix originals to be far past what I'm comfortable with, I was quite surprised with just how much I ended up enjoying the Enola Holmes movies, and honestly, with just how good they ended up being. That being said, when I discovered it was based on a book series, I knew I wanted to go ahead and give at least the first title a try.

I will say if you come into this book with a great love of the movies like I did, you might end up being disappointed, as they really don't have that much in common. This was still a cute read, and I enjoyed the character of Enola and the drive she has to try and take matters into her own hands. However, I thought the characters could have been a bit better developed, and I was disappointed with the fact that this didn't really end up being a true mystery until quite far into the story.

If you're on the lookout for a quick, middle grade read, then this might be the one you're looking for. However, I personally wouldn't recommend this for readers under the age of 12 as some of the content was a bit too much for that age in my opinion.

I'm not sure I'd run out to read the rest of the series, but I don't regret trying the first title even though I do feel the Netflix adaptation was far superior.

Final Rating: 3/5.

Thanks so much for reading guys! I hope you all have a great rest of your day :)

This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.