The Moonshine Women by Michelle Collins Anderson

This story takes place in the Prohibition era Missouri Ozarks. Three sisters take over the family moonshine business as they work together to provide for the family. We are introduced to the hardships of living in the country and making a product that the police are out to destroy.

Lidy and her son Hiram live in a little shack on the farm with his three daughters.  

Lidy Strong is the grandmother who adds her own special recipe to their moonshine helping to make it a lucrative business.

Rebecca is the oldest and most physically fit for working the farm. Rebecca doesn’t talk much. She seems to be happy hunting and being in nature.  

Elsie is smaller and pitches in with the regular housework. She is the most kindhearted of the three girls. She loves to sew, cook, clean, and sometimes hide from the more difficult farm tasks that are needed. Elsie is the romantic. She dreams of falling in love and that makes her more vulnerable and life more difficult for all of them.

Jace is the youngest girl who has a few secrets surrounding her place in the family. She is loud and more of a tomboy. She is the one who goes with her father into the woods to run the still and make the alcohol. Her nickname is Shine.

Lidy and the girls live in a dirt floor shack. They grow their own food, can it, make their own clothing, and don’t ask for much.

This is a story of family struggles and how they stick together to make it all work.

The story is well written. I have been through the Ozarks, and I could picture the scenery and the people. There are moments that make you laugh and some that make you cry. I thought this was an enjoyable read. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to escape to a simpler time where most people didn’t have telephones, let alone cell phones. Cars were a luxury and most food grew in your own garden.

First published March 31, 2026.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.

I include links to purchase. As an associate, I earn from qualified purchases. Thanks to all my readers who have supported me in the past by purchasing.

Books by this author:

Moonshine Women

The Flower Sisters

What I am currently reading:

How to Live with a Ghost by Melinda Wichmann

The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. Brown

If you are looking for a few bargain books. Check out my Pango Book Shop. https://lpangobooks.com/bookstore/virginia468417.

Happy reading!

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Today in Labor History April 12, 1924: Curtis Turner was born on this day in Floyd, Va. Turner, along with Fireball Roberts and Tim Flock, tried to organize the NASCAR drivers into a union in 1961 (the Federation of Professional Athletes). Their goals were bigger purses, a share in broadcasting rights, and retirement benefits for the drivers. NASCAR founder Bill France Sr banned all the union drivers. Eventually, every union driver except for Turner and Flock, quit the union so they could race again. Turner sued to be reinstated, but lost his lawsuit. The court said he was an individual contractor, not an employee of NASCAR or any track. But he was reinstated four years later.

As a racer, he won 360 races, including 22 in the NASCAR Convertible Division in 1956, alone, as well as 17 in the NASCAR Grand National Series. He got his start in driving as a bootlegger for the illegal whiskey his dad made. He never got caught running booze. However, he almost got caught with a 500 lb bag of stolen sugar (for making alcohol) in the days after WWII when sugar was still being rationed. However, after fighting a gun battle with the law, he managed to successfully evade a dragnet, as he drove 300 miles on backroads to get back home, where the cops were waiting for him. Then, during his trial, he convinced the jury that the sugar was for making apple butter. The judge sentenced him to $1,000 and a 2-year suspended sentence.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #nascar #union #curtisturner #organizer #unionbusting #bootlegging #moonshine #police

Moonshine CXI - 04 Apr feat. Moonshine, Kampire, Dj Nico + more

#SESH #Moonshine #Kampire #DjNico

https://sesh.sx/e/1965754

Sitting on a very delayed flight from Dallas (DFW) & trying to get home from #RootsTech.

So, because I am me, and the flight attendant is super cool, when asked if I wanted something to drink before take off, you better believe I asked for #moonshine.

I settled for a Cape Cod instead. But when he gave it to me, he said he would have to go to the Ozarks to get it. sigh. #Appalachia is not in the Ozarks.