The fortunes of a powerful family rise and fall through internecine struggles for dominance and Prohibition-era politics. When Duke Kincaid’s third wife dies, he summons his second daughter back to Claiborne County, VA, where she takes the reins of the family’s bootlegging operation. With narration as smooth and singular as Claiborne County moonshine, Walls (
The Glass Castle;
The Silver Star), takes listeners through Sallie Kincaid’s internal evolution through the tumultuous years after her homecoming. In Sallie, Walls creates a gutsy, wounded young woman with a reputation to grow into—the Kincaid name is a powerful one—and the determination to prove herself at a time when women had barely won the vote. Walls’s fifth self-narrated audiobook and third novel playfully merges historical inspiration, a juicy story, and a natural-sounding country twang that fits the Rum Runner Queen to a (Model) T. With high-octane turf wars and high drama family secrets, the plot can occasionally strain credulity, but listeners prepared to go along for the ride are in for a good time.
VERDICT A recommended pick for all libraries, given the author’s popularity. Detailed rendering of the Jim Crow South and a multigenerational bootlegger operation may attract additional listeners.
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