Myrtle Hardcastle tackles mysteries with gusto

October 7, 2023

Myrtle Hardcastle tackles mysteries with gusto

When it comes to amateur sleuths, Myrtle Hardcastle is an eager young detective in the Victorian era, who always manages to nab the crook.

In her latest adventure, “Myrtle, Means and Opportunity” by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers, 360 pp), Myrtle heads to Scotland with Miss Ada Judson, her beloved governess, who inherits an estate on a remote Scottish island. Naturally, they find a haunted castle, a missing brooch and a murderer on the loose.

When the Myrtle mysteries, which began four books ago with “Premeditated Myrtle,” in 2020, the intrepid detective was 12-years-old. With this newest mystery, due to be released October 24, you’d think Myrtle would have be in her mid-teens, but this reader could never find a specified age.

So you could think of her as a mature 12-year-old, or an older teen who still thinks like a 12-year-old. In other words, Myrtle is no Trixie Belden.

“Myrtle, Means and Opportunity” by Elizabeth C. Bunce. Cover courtesy of Algonquin Young Readers.

What she is, however, is a persistent investigator who’s always looking for clues. Somehow, along the way, Myrtle manages to ignore those maddening Victorian rules for Young Ladies of Quality, and fools any adult who thinks she’s just a youngster.

The females in the Hardcastle household, after all, are ahead of their time. There’s Cook, who can repair (or invent) any mechanical device that’s needed. There’s Miss Judson, who’s capable of winning over anyone – with charm, or an authoritative voice that is not to be ignored. And there’s Peony the cat, who always has something to say.

Unfortunately, the author chose to have most of the characters they meet speak in a Scottish brogue that is as illegible as it is unpronounceable. A word here or there, for flavor, would have been a better choice. Making the reader constantly stop to comprehend the dialogue is just irritating.

In this tale, we watch Myrtle search for the castle treasure while trying to figure out who’s killed and kidnapped people connected to the estate. Along the way, she does her best to makes sure that Miss Judson knows how much she is loved and needed.

For young readers (ages 10 and up), the story is a fun romp that could have moved at a faster pace. But rest assured, there’s a happy and satisfying ending for all.

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