Written by Cindy Anstey
Feiwel and Friends
978-1-250174895
352 pp.
Ages 13-18
2019
Blended with a budding romance or two, some shenanigans by Walter and Henry that actually unearth more clues, red herrings peppering the narrative, and several sting operations that are either fruitless or go awry, The Hummingbird Dagger is a historical mystery at its finest. For some readers, the historical time will be the hook, as it’s set in Regency Britain, a time when a folly is a structure, when a law against privateering is being discussed in the House of Lords, and young ladies require chaperones. But it’s the mystery that compelled me to read on. Cindy Anstey layers suspicion with hope and the nefarious with the respectable and creates a story of such depth that the villains are not easily identified and their motivations shrouded. She carries that dangerous riddle of Beth's identity flawlessly, never playing up the amnesia as crutch for the story, always drawing the reader along with each revelation. It's like putting a puzzle together with James, Caroline, Beth and Walter all finding pieces and hoping they'll fall together. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. Still Cindy Anstey resolves Beth's story with a happy enough ending that does not feel contrived or predictable.
The year is 1833 and a young woman is injured in a carriage accident caused by 14-year-olds Walter Ellerby and friend Henry Thompson. Though the men in the carriage are reluctant to accept any help for the young woman, Walter's brother, Lord James Ellerby, 20, demands she be taken to their home and a doctor called. The carriage and its driver and patrons continue on their journey.
But the young woman has no memory about who she is, except for haunting nightmares of a dark room and a dagger with the hilt of a hummingbird. She asks to be called Beth, the only name she can recall, and becomes a companion to eighteen-year-old Caroline Ellerby. As they attempt to discover who she is, James, Caroline and Beth discover greater mysteries, including that the carriage she'd been on was not the regular carriage between London and Exeter as had been expected and the trunk they'd been given as hers was actually filled with men's clothes. Then someone tries to break into the house, Caroline and Beth are accosted on the road and a man is found dead. As they try to determine who Beth is, a myriad of characters, from the Reverend Cranley's wife, to Henry's mother, sister Sophia and visiting uncle, Gilbert Renfrew, become part of the story, along with those who make claims to be related to her. It soon becomes a game of whom to believe and who should not be trusted, as the mystery of Beth’s identity is tied with the danger that someone means to harm her. But, with Beth's memories seeping back ever so slowly, the question is whether the young people will discover her story before the nightmares related to that hummingbird dagger become her reality.
Blended with a budding romance or two, some shenanigans by Walter and Henry that actually unearth more clues, red herrings peppering the narrative, and several sting operations that are either fruitless or go awry, The Hummingbird Dagger is a historical mystery at its finest. For some readers, the historical time will be the hook, as it’s set in Regency Britain, a time when a folly is a structure, when a law against privateering is being discussed in the House of Lords, and young ladies require chaperones. But it’s the mystery that compelled me to read on. Cindy Anstey layers suspicion with hope and the nefarious with the respectable and creates a story of such depth that the villains are not easily identified and their motivations shrouded. She carries that dangerous riddle of Beth's identity flawlessly, never playing up the amnesia as crutch for the story, always drawing the reader along with each revelation. It's like putting a puzzle together with James, Caroline, Beth and Walter all finding pieces and hoping they'll fall together. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. Still Cindy Anstey resolves Beth's story with a happy enough ending that does not feel contrived or predictable.
For a thrilling historical mystery, with the distinct atmosphere of Regency England and a touch of romance, Cindy Anstey's The Hummingbird Dagger delivers.
• • • • •
Next I review Deadly Curious, a legacy sequel of The Hummingbird Dagger but also a strong standalone mystery that focuses on Sophia Thompson as one of the protagonists. Look for it next here on CanLit for LittleCanadians.
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