Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin
Nancy Springer
Hot Key Books

It’s February 1891 and in London, Enola Holmes, (a Scientific Perditorian), the younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft is attending a funeral when she hears the faint sound of a ringing bell in the distance. Not one to ignore such strange a happening she goes to investigate and discovers something horrific: the bell is attached to a tombstone over a recent grave and somebody inside it is pulling the string and making the bell ring in alarm.

Enola and her companions unearth the coffin and discover inside a young woman named Trevina Trairom clad only in a white dress. She cannot remember much at all, not who she is nor who buried her and definitely not why. Enola takes the girl in, learns from a doctor that she’s been drugged and takes it upon herself to solve the mystery. Her investigations result in her being involved in one of Sherlock’s cases.

Little by little, with the help of friends, Enola works out that the person at the root of all the terrible happenings is the master criminal of all London, none other that Professor Moriarty. No wonder Sherlock had warned her not to get involved. Now she’s even more determined than ever to keep digging until the secrets surrounding Trevina are unravelled.

I’d not read any of the previous Enola Holmes stories but thoroughly enjoyed this one, finishing it in a day. I loved Enola’s determination and caring attitude and the plot is intriguing. With themes of friendship, family, lifestyle, abuse and the expectations and treatment of women, this will keep older primary readers turning the pages eager to find how things are resolved.