The Dagger Dance by Elizabeth Bailey

The Dagger Dance
by Elizabeth Bailey

ISBN-13: 9781800552128
Paperback: 361 pages
Publisher: Sapere Books
Released: April 13, 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from NetGalley:
1793, England. After a not-so-relaxing holiday in Tunbridge Wells, Lady Ottilia and Lord Francis Fanshawe have returned to their home with a young orphaned girl, Pertesia ‘Pretty’ Brockhurst. After losing both her parents in tragic circumstances, Pretty had been abandoned by the rest of her family and the childless Fanshawes have delighted in having her around. But when her estranged grandfather turns up on their doorstep, Ottilia is worried she will lose the child.

Meanwhile, their footman Hemp Roy, has run into trouble. After becoming reacquainted with Dorote, a woman from his past life in Barbados, Hemp is desperate to help her when she is accused of murdering her master in Bristol. Who better to turn to than his trusted Lady Fan?


My Review:
The Dagger Dance is a mystery set in 1793 in England. This novel is the 7th in the series, but you don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one. This story didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous books, but it did spoil some of the events in the previous book.

This was a clue-based mystery. Lady Fan and her husband asked plenty of questions of potential witnesses and suspects to sort out what had happened. The actual murderer seemed extremely obvious to me, but it took all of the clues to figure out exactly what had happened and prove whodunit for various crimes. Historical details were woven into the story to create the feeling of a specific time and place.

The characters were interesting, but Lady Fan is getting increasingly arrogant and high-handed in her dealings with other people. She's right (even in a case where she's just being selfish). Everyone else is wrong and anything (threats, blackmail, etc.) is justifiable to force them to do what she wants. I didn't care for this behavior, but her husband just cheered her on. Despite her much lauded observational skills, she and her husband were completely blind to the fact that she was pregnant. They were constantly making jokes about her odd eating behavior and erratic emotions to the point it became unbelievable that they simply didn't make the connection.

There were just a few of uses of bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.