Lady Truthful Newington is turning eighteen, and her father has decided to mark the occasion with a viewing of the Newington Emerald. The Emerald has been in the family for centuries, and is a powerful magical tool for the women of the family. It’ll be Truthful’s when she’s twenty one.
The viewing happens during a storm and when the lights are knocked out, someone steals the Emerald. Now it just so happens that Truthful will be shortly heading to London, where her Great Aunt Ermintude is going to shepherd her through her first Season, so she heads to London early, and with Aunt Ermintude’s help, hits open a plan to dress as a man while she searches for the Emerald.
This book is set in Regency times, but don’t expect a strictly Regency story – I’m quite sure no self-respecting Regency Lady would have dreamed of dressing up as a man, even if it was to track down a jewel of such importance. What you can expect, is a really good adventure. Truthful is fun, and the other characters she runs into are great additions to the story. Granted, I was just so happy to run into something new by Garth Nix, I was already ready to love it.