The Enola Holmes Series

I watched the preview for Enola Holmes on Netflix.  I thought I might enjoy the movie, but I decided that I should read the books first, provided that I found them interesting.

I read the beginning of the first book on Amazon, and then purchased it.  I loved it, so I read all six books.  I then watched Enola Holmes on Netflix.  

Let's start with the books.  They are magnificent.  I cannot possibly express how very much I enjoyed them. 

I can't say a lot about the books, simply because I don't want to spoil anything.  I will say that the books remind me a lot of Dickens.  I feel like I'm actually in Victorian London and in the world of Dickens.  That's excellent, because I love that setting.  I have never read Sherlock Holmes, so I can't make any observation about that.

Getting just a little more specific, Enola is trying to stay away from her older brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft, for the duration of the series.  That Enola is in hiding and playing a game of cat and mouse makes the books very suspenseful.  Enola is also a very good detective and is a lot of fun.

I am very glad that I read the books before watching the Netflix movie.  There are several reasons.  The Netflix movie makes a lot of changes.  One of these would have taken away from my reading of the books.  The story involving Enola's mother is changed significantly in the Netflix adaptation, and if I would have have seen the Netflix movie first, I feel that I not only would have felt less suspense but would have expected a certain outcome as I read the books.  

To me, Enola's character in the movie does not have the depth of the book character.  Of course, this is to be expected, but still, I found the character to be lacking.  Don't misunderstand:  The Netflix character is great, but I didn't find her nearly as great as the book character.

I do like Tewksbury better in the Netflix movie.  I really enjoyed the interplay between him and Enola and the hint of romance.  The book's character has a different trajectory, so she wouldn't have the slightest interest in a romance.  

In closing, I recommend both the Netflix movie and the series of books, although the books are more special, in my opinion.