TO CATCH A RAVEN

In post–Civil War Charleston, an accomplished swindler and a law-abiding tailor pose as a married couple to recover a stolen document.

Raven Moreau and Braxton Steele could not be more different. She’s a fiery Black woman from New Orleans, part of a colorful family of thieves, forgers, and tricksters. He’s a respectable tailor from Boston, heir to a shipping fortune and a pillar of New England’s Black business community. But Braxton’s family history is less straightforward than he imagined. He learns that his father was once a forger who worked with the Moreau family and that he was in love with the beautiful Hazel Moreau, Raven’s mother. Raven and Braxton are both dismayed when an ambitious Pinkerton agent threatens their families and forces them to work together on a mission to recover a stolen copy of the Declaration of Independence. They become domestic servants to a loathsome White woman who wants them to act as if they are enslaved. Inevitably, their daytime ruse leads to late-night passion, and they must both decide whether love is a good enough reason to scuttle their other plans. Either way, they won’t be able to avoid each other now that their parents have rekindled their youthful romance. In this third and final novel of the Women Who Dare series, Jenkins once again invites modern readers into the world of Black Americans in the 19th century. Jenkins’ normally smooth pacing and skillful plot construction are lacking here, making for a choppier reading experience. But don’t miss this book. Her characters are as compelling and richly detailed as always, and she tackles societal issues that are all too relevant today.

A love story with insights about the economic and social realities for African Americans in the years after emancipation.