Tough crowds don't scare "Bloody" Jack Faber. Much. She's always managed to handle even the most unsavory of assemblages, be they found drinking in a grimy Boston pub, working aboard a creaky naval ship or sipping tea at a snooty finishing school. Somehow, she's won them all over to her side. But now, with her feet back on English soil, Jacky will face the audience she fears most: Mrs. Fletcher, mother of one James Emerson Fletcher. Jaimy. From whom Jacky's heard not a word.

Her meeting with the dragon lady confirms Jacky's worst fears - Jaimy's no longer hers. Jacky's barely had time to digest the devastating news when she's nabbed by a press gang, who mistake her for a boy. Before she has time to explain, she's being hauled aboard a dingy Brig-of-War named Wolverine. The hell ship is captained by Abraham Scroggs, a sadist who's delighted to have a female on board, especially one as famous as Jacky. As soon as his gout clears up, he means to have her in his bed, whether she be willing or not.

Just as Jacky's about to meet her doom, a surprising turn of events changes everything for her. Suddenly, she's an outlaw, the most feared pirate on the high seas. With a price on her head, she can't very well go sashaying into port, which makes it rather difficult to claim the only treasure she really wants: Jaimy.

I don't say this about many series', but this one just keeps getting better. I've loved Jacky since I "met" her and I love her more with every passing page. She's one of the most finely-drawn characters I've ever encountered. With each new adventure, she gets funnier, braver, more admirable and more sympathetic. Have I told you lately that I love her? I do. And the funniest thing about these books, Under the Jolly Roger included, is that none of them really has much of a plot - they're simply about Jacky leaping from one adventure to another to another - and it doesn't bother me in the least. Jacky's character outshines everything else. L.A. Meyer's storytelling ain't bad either. I can't say it enough: Read this series!

(Readalikes: Bloody Jack; Curse of the Blue Tattoo; and other books in the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer)

Grade: A

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for violence and sexual innuendo/content

To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find