Jacky Faber is at it again in this eleventh installment in the Bloody Jack series. Having made port in her adopted city of Boston, Jacky is hoping to extend her fortunes by buying and Inn and a Theater. However, the rather puritanical attitude of those in Boston as well as the ethnic tension between the native born and those coming in from Ireland are making her time there difficult to say the least. Making more enemies than friends, Jacky is a little out of her depth when it comes to things on land.
Sometimes I feel like I am the only one still reading this series, but at this point, 11 books in, I am so invested that I couldn't stop reading if I wanted to. L.A. Meyer did announce that book number twelve will be the final installment in the Jacky Faber tales, which is okay by me. Although I have enjoyed Jacky's adventures (some more than others), I am afraid that it is time for the storylines to finally meet some kind of conclusion.
I am, of course, speaking of the on-again off-again romance between Jaimy Fletcher and Jacky. Let us make one thing clear--I think Jaimy is a terrible catch. He has cheated on her at least once and in his grief over thinking Jacky is dead, quickly found a girl to bed with even while seeking revenge for her killer. He has made it clear that he dislikes her ways as a wandering minstrel, privateer, and adventurer and has said numerous times that once she marries him they will settle down in some cottage somewhere. And anytime he gets even a whiff of her supposed infidelity, he immediately becomes angry and defensive. Truth is, Jaimy was in love with her as a child, but then they both grew up. Jaimy turned into a self-righteous bastard and Jacky can't keep herself from flirting with any man who gives her a wink. Not a good match.
The book itself was mediocre. Not a mess like Mississippi Jack, but rather boring really. Jacky buys a bar, the ladies temperance society doesn't like it so they trump up some charges and Jacky has to go to court. That's it really. The big emotional drama, for Jacky is a rather emotional creature, is that her "children" are taken from her and she is accused of being a bad mother. Now, as much as I love Jacky for her wanton and adventurous ways, I have to agree. She really isn't a very good mother. In fact, her adopted son Ravi has better moral judgement and values than she has in her little toe.
Hopefully Meyer can really bring it home with the last novel Wild Rover No More. I apparently have a year to wait to see if Jacky and Jaimy finally work out their very serious communication issues or whether Jacky will finally marry someone who will actually love her for who she is.
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