The Hummingbird Dagger

When young Lord James Ellerby watches helplessly as his reckless brother Walter crashes into an oncoming carriage, he is relieved to discover that no one has been seriously injured – until he spies an unconscious woman who has been thrown from the vehicle. With images of his own father’s all-too-recent death in a similar sort of accident running through his head, James is determined to ensure that this young woman receives immediate medical attention, despite the protestations of the coachman and his crew. With great care, he arranges to transport her to his manor and to have Dr. Brant attend to her injuries. The doctor is soon able to reassure James and his sister Caroline that their unexpected guest has not sustained any physical injuries of note. However, when she awakens, they are all surprised and dismayed to discover that she has no recollection of who she is and how she came to be there.

In the days that follow, Beth (as she calls herself for reasons that she can’t explain) tries to deal with her anxiety and frustration at her complete inability to remember anything about herself. James and Caroline do their best to locate her family and to piece together whatever clues they can gather about her identity. But things don’t seem to be adding up, and their efforts to help Beth keep leading to more unanswerable questions. And then there are the nightmares. Each night, Beth is plagued by terrifying dreams in which she is a captive in a dark and squalid room and her captors yield a hummingbird-shaped knife that is dripping with her blood. The Ellerby siblings resolve to help Beth figure out who she is and where she belongs, and they vow to protect her until then. But it soon becomes apparent that someone wants to harm Beth, and they grow increasingly concerned for her safety. Then, just when the pieces do start to fall into place, Beth finds herself in grave danger in spite of all the efforts to keep her safe.

Returning to the Regency era once again, Cindy Anstey’s newest offering is darker in tone than her previous works with the mystery being the primary focus of this story. Beth’s gruesome recurring nightmare lends a somber, malevolent air to the narrative right from the beginning and creates a strong sense of foreboding. The author allows the clues to emerge gradually which adds to the dramatic tension but also leads to the feeling that the pacing is somewhat uneven (ie. the story is slow to start, but the end feels full and fast-moving). The characters are likeable and engaging, and the romance that develops between Lord Ellerby and Beth is sweetly satisfying despite the fact that readers might wish to have seen their feelings for one another develop more naturally. Walter adds a dose of humour to the story, and the author succeeds in creating a pleasingly unexpected ending that neatly resolves all of the unanswered questions that have been raised. The Hummingbird Dagger is a worthy addition to Anstey’s oeuvre which veers into a slightly new direction while still demonstrating her obvious love of, and impressive knowledge about, this time period.