‘The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline: An Enola Holmes Mystery’ and ‘The Red Blazer Girls’

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Here’s a pair of mysteries featuring feisty girl detectives — and, as a bonus, built-in puzzles for the reader to decipher.

“The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline,” set in Victorian London, is narrated by Enola Holmes, much younger sister of the detective Sherlock. At 14, Enola is already a master of disguises, able to pass herself off as a working-class girl, a fine lady, an aristocratic spinster. In her “poofs and underpinnings,” she has become “Miss Meshle” to hide from her famous brother, who intends to send her to a boarding school.

When her landlady is kidnapped, Enola sets off to find the deaf and harmless widow and instead finds herself pulled into a mystery with roots in the Crimean War, 30 years earlier. Historical details are woven skillfully through the narrative, providing information without being intrusive. Tidbits about life in Victorian times — yes, even corsets and crinolines — add flavor to the tale. A 30-year-old coded message is printed on the page so that readers have a shot at deciphering it before Enola does. (But hurry! It only takes her 13 pages.)

Enola spelled backwards is “alone,” and the resourceful protagonist is indeed a lonely girl making her own way at a time when being a woman was not easy. Readers today may be shocked at some aspects of Victorian society but will readily identify with this daring and determined young lady.

“The Red Blazer Girls” are seventh-graders at an all-girls school in Manhattan. Sitting in English class one day, Sophie St. Pierre glances out the window and sees a pale face in a small window, high up in the church across the courtyard. She and her friends go looking for the mysterious face and are caught up in a 20-year-old treasure hunt.

They learn an archaeologist had devised a series of clues to lead his granddaughter to her 14th birthday gift, then died before the birthday. The Red Blazer Girls pick up the cold trail, using math, literary and art references, and more. Each puzzle is printed in the book, giving readers a crack at it along with the school sleuths. If the explanations are at times wordy, they’re still interesting and move the action along.

Beneath the surface plot, the story explores the meaning of friendship. Sophie’s narrative voice is spot-on; she and her preteen friends are totally engaging. The puzzles tantalize, suspense builds, and the ending satisfies.

Readers looking for strong female protagonists in exciting adventures will relish these two well constructed mysteries and no doubt look for further episodes in each delicious series.

Children’s literature specialist Paula Morrow lives and writes in Princeton. She welcomes comments and book suggestions at: Reviews@PaulaMorrow.com.