The Moonshine Women by Michelle Collins Anderson ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

From a well-camouflaged still in the moonshine-slicked mountains of Prohibition-era Missouri, to the drink order of a Hot Springs gangster, and even the hidden depths of her own heart, a Strong woman knows how to keep a secret…

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

March 2026; A John Scognamiglio Book; 978-1496748300
audio, ebook, print (400 pages); historical fiction

In 1929, in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri, there was a moonshine still operated by a father and his daughter Shine.  They made some of the best moonshine in the area because of some of the special flavors that their grandmother added to the mash. This is during Prohibition, when government agents spent time searching for and destroying stills on small farms and pouring out the moonshine that they found. When the father is killed by government agents, the business is taken over by all three of the sisters and helped by their grandmother Liddy – who has been making moonshine for ages.  The sisters are all totally different, but work together to get their business running -Rebecca is an outside girl who is interested in nature and in hunting and would sooner be in the woods than be around people.  Elsie is the middle sister, and she yearns for love and marriage and a life very different from the life she is living.  Jace – who everyone calls Shine - is the most interested in the moonshine business. She has red hair and a fiery temper to match and has learned all about making moonshine from her beloved father.  She basically takes the lead on the family business after their father dies.

After their father is killed, the girls decide that they need to take their product further away to sell.  They believe that it’s better than most moonshine and want to get top dollar.  Shine takes their product to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where she gets a buyer from a popular bar in the area where she meets and has to deal with gangsters like Al Capone.  Can they keep their business intact to keep food on their table and avoid the government men who are working hard to make sure that they don’t stay in the business of making illegal moonshine?

I really enjoy books about sisters, and even though these sisters are very different from each other, they are all strong in their own way and determined to keep their family safe.  They each do their part to keep the family running despite their occasional disagreements.  This book was well written, and the setting was so well described that you almost felt like you were in the Ozarks with the family.  The research was extensive, and the storyline was interesting.  My only problem with the book is the time jumps later in the book and the fact that the first 50% of the book, while the family was still on the farm, was much more exciting for me.

Overall, I thought this book was a well-written look at a significant time in our history – when people had to resort to doing something illegal to keep food on their table, as it also looked at the people who, despite working on something that was against the law, were hardworking and were good people.  If you enjoy historical fiction, you don’t want to miss this one!

Buy The Moonshine Women at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.

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