Rapture of the Deep: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor, Mermaid, Spy is a historical novel by L.A. Meyer, published in 2009.
[1] In this installment, Jacky returns from her 'history-defining' adventure as a Parisian nightclub spy and messenger for Napoleon Bonaparte.
On the day that Jacky Faber is to wed her true love, Jaimy, she is kidnapped by British Naval Intelligence and forced to embark on yet another mission for the Crown, searching for sunken Spanish gold off the coast of Havana.
Once aboard, her butler Master John Higgins cleans her up and Jacky discusses her duty as a nightclub dancer, her position as spy for the British, and her relationship with Jean-Paul.
Before setting sail for the Keys, Jacky tells Captain Hudson to be on the lookout for any ship-jumpers that might get on board for information and turn it in to the opposing forces such as the Spanish.
Jacky is deeply angered by this kind of trade, but bids for an old slave woman named Jemimah and brings her aboard her ship.
When they get to the Keys, Jacky starts swimming immediately; her first dive is a dangerous one as she has a run-in with a moray eel.
After Jacky emerges from the water and offends the officer in charge, the Spanish and the Nancy B. sail separately for Havana.
Jacky, Davy, and Tink explore the town; taking in some cockfighting matches and performing at the Cafe Americano, among other activities.
Jaimy and the Dolphin crew soon meet up with Jacky, who has spent her time preparing for cockfighting matches.
Jacky don't feel anything but when the pain from the Rapture of the Deep starts to kick in, she begins convulsing and shrieking until they get her back into the water to ease the condition.
El Feo and his new ship, the Red Devil, retreat, leaving Flaco siding with Jacky.
Finally the San Cristobal comes into view, attacking both ships, But the Dolphin comes to aid Jacky and the crew just in the nick of time.
[2] Booklist's Carolyn Phelan called Rapture of the Deep a "fast-paced and often amusing swashbuckler" and highlighted how "Meyer weaves details of nineteenth-century history, lore, and ballads.
"[3] In a School Library Journal review, Kristen Oravec wrote about main character Jacky, highlighting how "she taunts and teases every man she meets and seems not to care about running around naked or half-naked in front of them."
[4] Aarene Storms, writing for Shoreline Area News, also pointed out the novel's innuendos, though referred to them as "very tactful".
Storms also mentioned the novel's inclusion of "minor cussing" and "some blood shed", though stated, "none of which should alarm any but the most fainthearted of readers.
In a starred review, Booklist's Connie Rockman wrote, "Kellgren expertly juggles Jacky's Cockney accent, the proper upper-class British tones of Higgins and fiancé Jamie, various speech patterns of Spanish and Caribbean officers and merchants, and the softly cadenced southern tones of Jemima, a cook Jacky buys at a Charleston slave market and promptly sets free.