BRANDY

The daughter of pirates reconnects with her past while investigating a diabolical scheme in this historical novel.

In 1829, no pirate is more feared than Katrina Mooney, known as the Scarlet Mistress. For years, Katrina and her husband, Capt. Eric Erasmus, have sailed their ship, The Red Witch, throughout the Caribbean with their daughter, Brandy. When a betrayal by first mate Don Lomoche leads to Eric’s death and the ship’s capture, Katrina places a curse on the vessel that only 15-year-old Brandy can break. Brandy and her uncle Skinner escape to Kingston, Jamaica, where she dyes her distinctive red hair black and he changes his name to Skynyrd. Fifteen years later they run a successful tavern called Katrina’s with a Chinese immigrant named Zhang Yong, an employee and musician, and Davonte, a waitress. Brandy believes she has left the pirate’s life behind her until she meets first mate John Edwards and the crew of the ship The Morning Star. After Edwards and Midshipman Ralphie Austin are attacked by a sailor named Faustin Reece, Brandy and Skynyrd discover that the culprit is connected to Lomoche. When Lomoche conspires with corrupt officials to expand the slave trade in the Caribbean, Brandy discovers the only way to stop him is through reclaiming her family legacy, a mission that grows complicated when she falls in love with the dashing Edwards. This latest novel from Hendrickson is a briskly paced work of historical fiction that seamlessly blends action and a love story. Brandy is an amiable hero whose romance with Edwards unfolds at a leisurely pace as she struggles with the question of whether to reveal her family history to him. Lomoche is an effective villain whose criminal activities lead to well-staged action sequences at the tale’s climax. That said, the dialogue reads like a summary of events. At one point, Austin tells Edwards after their assault: “They explained to the captain of the garrison what had happened earlier at Katrina’s with the one we now know is Faustin Reece. The garrison captain said he talked with one of those black-clad people he calls ‘The Night Watch.’ ”

An appealing pirate adventure.