If the Tide Turns: Sneak Peek

By Rachel Rueckert

Be one of the first to read this sneak preview sample edition before the full length novel comes out!

Set during the Golden Age of Pirates and the shadowy aftermath of the Salem witch trials, this vivid literary debut is inspired by the captivating true story of real-life pirate Samuel Bellamy, combining high seas adventure, star-crossed longing, surprisingly timely questions about social justice and freedom, and the emotionally satisfying tale of one strong-willed young woman determined to choose her own path…

1715, Eastham, Massachusetts: As the daughter of a wealthy family, Maria Brown has a secure future mapped out for her, yet it is not the future she wants. Young, headstrong, and restless, Maria has no desire to marry the aging, mean-spirited John Hallett, regardless of his fortune and her parents’ wishes. As for what Maria does want—only one person has ever even asked her that question.

Samuel Bellamy, an orphaned sailor searching for work, meets Maria by chance, enthralling her with talk of far-flung places and blasphemous ideals. But neither is free from the social order into which they were born. When Sam is banished from Maria’s parents’ home after asking for her hand, he vows to return a wealthy man, and Maria promises to keep the faith until then.

Sam is drawn into piracy and discovers a brotherhood more equal and fulfilling than any on land, despite its dangers. Beguiled by the chance to both fight for justice and make a fortune to bring home to Maria, Sam is torn between duty to his crew and his desire to return. Separated by more than just the ocean, time slips by as Sam and Maria cling to their love for each other. Maria is determined to stay strong in her conviction in Sam, but as rumors swirl and her position in Eastham turns perilous, Maria is forced into an impossible decision.
In parallel journeys—deeply individual, though inseparably bound—Sam and Maria must confront the questions: What are the limits of change and the price of true freedom? And where does treasure really lie? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kensington Books
• Release date: Jan 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9781496754516

Rachel Rueckert

Rachel Rueckert is an award-winning writer, editor, and teacher who holds an MFA from Columbia University and an M.Ed. from Boston University. On her first visit to Provincetown, Massachusetts, she learned about the true story of Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Samuel Bellamy and vowed to write their stories, returning to Cape Cod again and again over the years for research and freedom in the shape of solace. She splits her time between Salt Lake City and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and can be found online at: RachelRueckert.com.

Book preview

P

ROLOGUE

I know this place, how the spindly grass bends against the rolling dunes.

The bite of salt air, the brine of pink Atlantic mornings along the docks.

I know the hideouts for lovers, the townsfolk and the church with its hard pews and shadows.

A barn with a boot print. A whipping post. A cell, real and imagined.

I know every spine of this shore, and the woman whose voice cries and curses whenever storms hammer the bone-white sand where lies the remains of the Whydah and her treasure, her crew.

I know something of ghosts, including some who had the audacity to survive.

P

ART

1

S

UMMER

1715

C

HAPTER

1

Maria broke for air as a wave crested. She let out an unrestrained laugh as the ocean tumbled into her shoulders, pushing her through the surf until her knees pressed into the soft shore.

How did I do this time? Maria shouted above the roar to her younger sister, Elizabeth, who sat reading on the empty beach.

Elizabeth’s eyes flicked up, then back to her novel. As well as usual.

Which wasn’t great, Maria knew. Maria never waded in deeper than her ribs. But not knowing how to swim hadn’t halted her attempts to improve.

Maria scrambled to her feet, shaking out a shiver and scraping away sand. She wrung water from her linen shift, then her braid. Her throat burned with traces of sea. Despite the goose bumps, she glowed with delight. She buried the wet shift inside her basket, then quickly changed into a clean dress.

I’m missing something in the arm movement, Maria said after drying off. She held out her arms, trying to mimic what she’d seen the fishermen at the docks do when they dove to cut a snagged line. Why were they allowed this joy while she was not? She finished dressing and then stared at the bonnet in her hands. She hated the dreadful thing, but over her seventeen years of existence, she’d learned resistance was futile. She sighed, then tied the bonnet on, tucking the damp coil of cornsilk hair away from view.

There has to be a way to keep water out of my nose.

Mmm, Elizabeth said.

Are you even listening to me?

Elizabeth turned a page. Imagine what Mama would say if she found out you were at this again.

Maria didn’t have to imagine. She knew exactly what Mama would say, having been caught before. A few months back, Maria and Elizabeth had both lost privileges of going out, meaning Elizabeth hadn’t been able to see her friend, Lydia, for a week.

Maria felt a pang of regret, softened only by knowing that Elizabeth craved these moments away as much as Maria did, a chance to sit with her questionable reading material without prying eyes.

It would be a shame to spend a life by the sea and never properly venture into it, Maria said. She had always felt so. Such wild vastness, possibility and danger. Adventure and misadventure. Everything she shouldn’t feel drawn to as a girl.

But it wasn’t proper for her to venture into it at all.

You’ll be an eligible lady soon, Elizabeth said without looking up, but Maria heard the sorrow in that familiar reproach. Elizabeth herself might not recognize the base note of sadness, that subtle dissonance, but Maria did. She felt a small, invisible stirring—nothing more. Maria could never explain how she knew these unspoken, unseeable things.

Reviews for If the Tide Turns

[simi0olivier · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of Maria and Samuel, lovers pulled apart by circumstance but fighting the odds to get back to each other again. Inspired by true events, this tale dives into the era of piracy after the Salem witch trials. I was not familiar with the tale of Black Sam Bellamy prior to this, but this story was not like “Bonnie and Clyde”; it was a lot more like “Persuasion” in reverse. This was sadder than I anticipated, and the love story kept me hoping. I enjoyed the pacing and I expected the piracy/privateering to bore me but it did NOT.
The narration was also good, although Sam’s accent was quite posh (but it did help distinguish him from the other characters)

Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for the arc of this audiobook for review.