The lovely people at @literallypr recently introduced me to The Covert Buccaneer, and what a brilliant find it turned out to be! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at first, but within a few pages I was completely drawn in. It’s got history, strong women, and just the right amount of mystery to keep you turning the pages.
In short, two very different women, separated by a century, whose lives (and secrets) somehow overlap. On one side we have Theodora “Teddy” Ellis. She’s a bold, rule-breaking woman in the late 1800s/early 1900s: miner, suffragist, real-estate developer, disguising herself into male-only spaces. On the other side is Georgina “Ellie” Benvenuto in modern day San Francisco. She’s a climate-migrant attorney, single mother of a child with special needs, worn out but still fighting. When Ellie stumbles on Teddy’s long-hidden diary and an heirloom that leads into a legal case, the story really starts moving.
What I liked
- Strong women + big scope: I loved how Teddy’s wild-once life (Klondike mines, suffrage, rebuilding after the 1906 earthquake) contrasts with Ellie’s quieter yet no less fraught modern life. It shows how women keep fighting the same battles in new forms.
- Dual timelines done well: It could have felt gimmicky, but the way Teddy and Ellie’s stories mirror each other gives the book a nice rhythm, unearthing the past, confronting the present, and wondering about legacy.
- Rich historical texture + modern edge: The historical side felt immersive (I could almost feel the dust, hear the clang of a miner’s pick) and the modern side feels current (legal jobs, motherhood, identity).
- Meaningful themes: Identity, reinvention, what we owe to the women who came before us, all woven in without feeling preachy.
Who will enjoy reading The Covert Buccaneer?
If you enjoy:
- historical fiction with gutsy female leads
- dual-time stories that zoom between past & present
- novels with heart and a dash of mystery
Then this is a solid pick. The Covert Buccaneer is the kind of story that hums softly in your thoughts afterwards.
Buy your copy on Amazon here.
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From the cover I thought it wouldn’t appeal to me, but the story line actually sounds really good!