A cozy installment best suited to established series devotees.
Scientific Perditorian Holmes returns to crack her eighth case.
Enola Holmes, a clever sesquipedalian sleuth (and younger sister to Sherlock and Mycroft), is terribly worried about her friend Lady Cecily Alistair. Life in 19th-century London affords 17-year-old Lady Cecily little autonomy, and she suffers under the hand of her abusive, social-climbing father, Lord Eustace, who left her with aunts who starve her and cut her off from all she loves. As Enola enlists to help Cecily, she realizes that Lord Eustace’s mistreatment has had a terrible impact on her friend’s psyche. In Cecily’s fragile state, she goes missing: Will Enola be able to not only find Cecily, but also free her from her overbearing father? Those familiar with the series should be at home here with the fiercely feminist and sartorially inclined detective, and those new to her adventures are provided enough backstory to follow and enjoy her exploits. This installment, however, does not quite come together as a mystery. The plotting feels rushed and a bit underdeveloped; the characters, by contrast, are well fleshed out, making this feel more like a character study than a traditional whodunit. All quibbles aside, Enola is a wholly likable character, and more time with her is always welcome. All characters default to White.
A cozy installment best suited to established series devotees. (Mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-82297-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
Crowd-pleasing fun laced with political fire: a winner.
Bestselling author Faizal returns to the universe of We Hunt the Flame (2019) with a stand-alone duology opener.
Orphaned Arthie, brown-skinned with mauve hair, has created a criminal empire out of sheer pluck despite being Ceylani in Ettenia, where laws favor white people. She pulled legendary pistol Calibore from a stone plinth (though the prophecy that doing so would make her the nation’s leader turned out to be a hoax). She’s also built Spindrift, a teahouse-cum-bloodhouse, where she gathers secrets from wealthy humans and vampires, amassing power and security. Now Arthie has her sights set on vengeance—and the Ram, Ettenia’s masked monarch. When she and Jin, her brother-by-choice (who’s cued East Asian), are drawn into a heist, they assemble a diverse crew of immigrants whose roles riff on genre archetypes. The lush prose pulses with feeling as revelations are dropped and the tension ratchets up, keeping the pages turning as the motley gang plans to infiltrate a vampire society, retrieve a stolen ledger, and double-cross one of the Ram’s guards (who might be planning to double-cross them). Their ultimate goal: taking down the colonizing Ettenians and the exploitative East Jeevant Company. It’s all very exciting right up to the action-packed finale, which promises more conspiracy and (hopefully) justice to come. This compelling read offers interesting commentary on our society while feeling entirely real within the context of its own worldbuilding.
Crowd-pleasing fun laced with political fire: a winner. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780374389406
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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