Janine by Evelyn Sanders

San Francisco, California, 1906. Janine Harper is a young journalist who goes to San Francisco to find out more about the mysterious death of her father, a writer who had been collecting information for a series on night life in the Barbary Coast area for a New York publisher. She resolves to finish his work using her own writing skills to expose the “City of Sin” to the rest of the world.

She finds employment as a companion to a wealthy, elderly lady who lives with her civic-minded grandson. In Janine’s lively imagination, Blake looks more than a daring sea captain or swashbuckling pirate than an architect. She does not know, at first, that he is involved in an attempt to uncover government fraud and official collusion with lawless elements in the city. In the evenings he frequents disreputable establishments in disguise, knowing nothing about Janine’s night-off activities. When their paths cross in a waterfront saloon, sparks fly.

Janine’s protector, a young, simple-minded giant who had furnished transportation and other assistance for her father before his death, always accompanies her on trips to the seamy side of the city. When Blake accosts her with an angry outburst at seeing her in the saloon, Freddie decks him. Janine is sure she will get fired, but Blake’s grandmother, who has grown quite fond of Janine, intervenes.

Blake doesn’t like what Janine is writing about his city and wants to show her its other side, but there are complications. He is engaged to be married to a San Francisco socialite, and Janine finds herself falling in love with him. The 1906 earthquake and fire bring resolution to all the emotional complications.

Evelin Sanders’ aim was to present history in a vibrant context to young adults using protagonists their age in her stories. Janine is her third novel.