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This genre-bending tale of pirates, treasure hunters, and adventure seekers spans generations and time periods, offering up a bounty of thrills along the way. The story begins with Anne, a restless rebel who leaves Ireland for the New World. When her mother dies, her father is left to tame her wildness. Ever the contrarian, Anne often dresses as a boy to experience more freedoms as she frequents taverns and docks late at night and alone. Drawn to the ships at port and the promise of the seas as freedom, she marries a sailor. On a stolen sloop with a loyal crew, they set out for the Bahamas, where she promptly falls in love with a pirate, abandons her marriage, and begins a life on the high seas. From Anne, the story fans out to encompass a cast of characters connected through time, treasure, and a remnant from the past.
Like the restlessness of Anne, this story cannot be contained by genre or narrator. It is both historical fiction and a contemporary adventure. With dazzling depths of magical realism and women’s literature, it begins in the first person. It then moves to the third person as more characters populate the plot set in motion by Anne’s nautical adventures on a pirate ship. But Rodden’s storytelling prowess keeps the people and places connected and moving fitfully to redemption. The effortless dialogue combined with the rich narration will captivate readers as two resurrected pirates maneuver through present-day Mexico to find release from an ancient spell. Infused with the beauty and mystery of exotic places, Rodden’s adventure brings to life a startling female pirate with a story to tell. Subversive and rebellious, Anne’s voice and her actions will stay with the reader long after her story ends.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review