The Formidable Miss Cassidy by Meihan Boey is the breath of fresh air that I so desperately needed. It’s a fun, supernatural mystery that is full of heart and many delightful surprises. So please join me and accompany Miss Cassidy as she travels across the world to educate a young woman and solve a generational haunting.
What if your very respectable governess was not just educated in languages, history, societal protocols, and such, but was also supernaturally savvy? When Miss Cassidy arrives in Singapore, her new employer, Captain Bendemeer, expects her to be a proper companion for his young daughter. Miss Cassidy is certainly that and more, and it doesn’t take her long to notice some things are not quite right in the home. As Miss Cassidy integrates herself into the family and the lively port city, she will come to know many colorful characters haunted by supernatural forces. Little do they know, they’ve met their match in this formidable Scottish governess.
At the heart of this story is a supernatural mystery, but The Formidable Miss Cassidy is so much more than a whodunit. Although I enjoyed a good old-fashioned mystery when I first started reading, I have largely found them less enjoyable now unless it’s bolstered by great characters in a fantasy or sci-fi setting. So if you’re looking for a hardcore mystery, this is not the story for you. But it is a fantastic book if you’re looking to get to know some quirky characters who are mostly oblivious to the supernatural forces meddling in their lives. Boey easily keeps the reader intrigued thanks to her wonderful characters, but there is also a lot of nebulousness surrounding the main character, Miss Cassidy. This proper governess keeps things close to the vest, so we spend much of the story trying to piece together clues about Miss Cassidy as we do about the unfolding plot.
The story is set in late 1800s Singapore, and it lives and breathes as a main character in its own right. Miss Cassidy, as an outsider hailing from Scotland, serves as a great conduit for the reader to step into this time and place in history. The streets are crowded with rickshaws, food vendors, and all manner of merchants using the city as a trading hub. The culture clash of Chinese, English, and Indian settlers is evident from the diverse languages, differing belief systems, values, and folklore infused throughout this story. The world and this fantastic setting are built up beautifully as Miss Cassidy naturally finds her own rhythm in the new city and gets to know her host family.
The setting is heightened even further as the clash of cultures also wrangles with evolving societal standards. Thanks to Miss Cassidy’s charges, we see how both an English and a Chinese family choose to balance tradition and progress. We see a huge disparity among the characters as some hold steadfast to their traditional beliefs (and prejudices) while others are evolving with the times. Singapore, as seen through Miss Cassidy’s eyes, is vibrant, alive, and functions within its own sort of organized chaos. And as much as you can’t anticipate how the port city will ebb and flow, you also can’t put these characters in a box because they will find ways to surprise you.
As much as Miss Cassidy adored her charges, I, too, was willing to do anything to see their happiness come to fruition. I had a great time rooting for these characters and collecting every little hint in hopes of sorting the supernatural mystery. This story is great fun and has a sneaky depth that will have you appreciating the small moments and big impact that Boey so expertly crafts.
Rating: The Formidable Miss Cassidy – 9.0/10
-Brandee
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The thoughts on this story are my own.
