Boston Jacky Review

Jacky is back in her beloved Beantown and while she does not burn the place down as she did in her first stay, she still brings about plenty of trouble. She is “ever so hard on her friends,” as well as one Jaimy Fletcher but we’ll get to that.

Jacky is ready to stay on good ol U.S. territory where government don’t have her on the hangman’s list or a spy’s docket and her first order of business is to revive her old stomping grounds, The Pig and Whistle to become not only the finest tavern but a playhouse with the best entertainment around. The thing about Jacky is that she likes sharing her good fortunes with her friends and providing them with steady jobs so it seems like a win win all around. She especially needs it as she has been spending like the sailor she is and needs a revival in commerce. This is especially hard with Jefferson’s new embargo that prevents the rum, molasses and other goods trade between the U.S. and other foreign powers at war. Big trouble as that is what Jacky was founding Faber Shipping on.

So she takes a brief escapade back to the Carribbean for some of that buried treasure she smuggled away for rainy day’s like this. Although she doesn’t have a grand dalliance with Flaco when he arrives, the high and mighty Clarissa Howe provides some drama when she gets into trouble.

Which brings me to the most amazing development of Jacky and Clarissa’s frenemy relations start to tip more towards friends. I know right but Meyer makes it work as their previous time on the Bloodhound and Clarissa admitting her jealousy of Jacky’s freedom brings them to a new ground of respect. However, it’s best to remember with frenemies, enemy is still a big part of it and Clarissa holds a grudge.

But Clarissa is not the big trouble Jacky must deal with. Boston may enjoy the entertainment and alcohol Jacky brings but she runs afoul the Women’s Temprence Union (and here she was all supportive of their fight for suffrage) led by the biddy Hester Shin who wants to see Jacky punished like the trollop she is and uses the law to yank Ravi and Joannie out of Jacky’s care, proclaiming her an unfit guardian and mum which strikes her to the core. Plus Jacky’s pride in snubbing her nose at Mrs. Shin also brings Jacky into a major fight with her dearest friend, Amy.

Not only that, but the detestable Constable Wiggins still has Jacky’s sights in his aim and he has allied himself with the ugly Pigger O’Toole. No longer a London brothel pimp, O’Toole heads up one of the three major fire companies (as well as employing a maniac fire starter Pyro Johnny). Meyer brings an interesting bit of history as each fire company acts like a gang, offering “protective insurance” to Boston citizens and handling their “territories” when a fire breaks out. I wonder if that’s why there is a unit for each neighborhood instead of just one big fire department.

Anyway, the reason there are gangs in the first place is that the good ol American xenophobia is rearing its ugly head as citizens dislike the dirty Irish immigrants (that Jacky is employing. Whoops another black mark on her book) polluting their shores and taking their jobs. The rallying cries of the Nativist fire chief will sound very familiar to most as he calls for the people to fight the Irish and stop them from ruining the white race. Pigger, living up to his nickname only fans the flames (literally), goading the Shamrock police chief, Arthur McBride and his alliance with Jacky.

As you can see there is so much happening here from Jacky having to rescue her young charges to dealing with racists fight-starters to bringing in the dough. But her love life is in similar trouble, she just doesn’t know it as Jaimy returns to the shore while Jacky is away and finds a certain nude picture from Amadeo and comes to all the wrong conclusions like the jealous hothead he is. They’re truly a pair with each close reunion always slipping out of their grasp. Meyer knows how to keep up the suspense till the very ends.

So while the previous book was a bit of filler, this is full one adventure after another and has one of the and I mean THE most funniest chapters ever. Chapter 40 was one page after another of stomach-hurting laughter. I had to put the book down multiple times because I was laughing too hard. You really must read it for yourself but basically Jacky’s specual hallucinogen mushrooms come into play again and seeing a bunch of uptight Puritans go nuts, it’s hilarious. I loved it. Chapter 40 was the best chapter.

This book was just another rollicking adventure of Jacky that ups the stakes just enough as it presents several of Jacky’s failings though she hasn’t had the time to self-reflect on them enough to realize her mistakes. Not that that decreases the enjoyment. Quite the opposite. In fact I’ll have to quote Clarissa Howe on this: Since meeting Jacky “life is just more fun.”

And that’s why we love her.