Interesting story set in Edinburgh where two sets of twins from the same family deal with the same issue separated by several years.
Half of the story is set in the present day (the book was published in 2005) and the other half is from a journal the twins, Lucy and Will, find in their house from 1796. Their mother works in the library and their father is a businessman who hasn't come home yet and doesn't appear when debt collectors turn up. The other story also has debt collectors but it's more complicated and there are debtors prisons involved. It's interesting to see the parallels. There's intrigues also with the Black Dagger Brotherhood in the past and in the end it all works out for both parties.
It's an interesting read and she does evoke Edinburgh quite well. ( )

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. ( )

The Sign of the Black Dagger, by Joan Lingard, (Floris Books, Myrick Marketing and Media, LLC), 192 pages, originally published in 2005, new edition released September 1, 2014.

If you’ve got a middle-grader who enjoys historical adventures, you may want to check out The Sign of the Black Dagger. The plot follows two pairs of children: the present-day Will and Lucy and historical figures William and Louisa, who lived in Will and Lucy’s house two hundred years ago.

Both sets of children face similar problems. Their fathers have run up huge debts and have left their families. Will and Lucy’s dad is hiding from unsavory creditors; William and Louisa’s dad must live in the debtor’s sanctuary attached to a noble house. The present-day scenes are written in third person. The historical scenes are written in first person, alternating between the voices of William and Louisa.

This isn’t one of those children’s books that transcend the genre sufficiently to make good reading for adults as well. Nonetheless, for the right age group (perhaps fourth through seventh grades) this book will provide a relatively quick, satisfying read. ( )

Twin’s Will and Lucy’s dad has mysteriously disappeared. While they search for clues they uncover a diary behind a loose brick in the chimney of their old Edinburgh house. It was written by their ancestors in 1796, another set of twins called William and Louisa, whose own father had to leave his family to seek sanctuary from debtors prison in Holyrood Abbey. The diary takes Will and Lucy on a journey through the past, providing clues such as the sign of the black dagger. They need to uncover family secrets that still affect the family, which will hopefully lead to their father.

This story jumps disconcertingly between the past and the present which I felt interrupted the story’s flow. I enjoyed the historical detail. ( )