The Moonshine Women
- Judith D Collins
- Jul 20
- 3 min read
ISBN: 9781496748300
Publisher: Kensington The Moonshine Women
Publication Date: 03/31/2026
Format: Other
My Rating: TBR (ARC)
MAR 2026 MUST-READ BOOKS
In the Prohibition era Missouri Ozarks, three sisters take over their father’s moonshine business in an evocative story of reinvention, sisterhood, and the alchemy of love for readers of Jeannette Walls, Fannie Flagg, Sue Monk Kidd, and Donna Everhart.
Every batch of Strong moonshine has its own special flavor, thanks to the secret ingredients that matriarch Lidy Strong adds to the barrels of fermenting corn mash. Whether a bucketful of golden peaches, a ripe melon or juicy, jewel-toned berries, that extra “something something” is what makes the Strong “shine” so prized—and allows the family to survive after crop prices plummeted in the wake of the Great War.
Each of the Strong sisters, too, is distinct. Stoic, steadfast Rebecca would rather be with her beloved farm animals or off hunting in the woods than socializing. Middle sister Elsie is kindhearted, beautiful—and itching for a life more thrilling than the farm can offer. Jace, the youngest, is known far and wide as “Shine,” a name that suits her fiery personality and flaming red hair as much as her innate skill with a still.
Their father, Hiram, has been drowning himself in grief and liquor ever since his wife died. But the moonshine business is unforgiving, especially with Prohibition agents turning up in every creek and holler. When tragedy strikes, it falls to the Strong women to keep the still running, the family together, and hope burning on the horizon.
From the Ozark mountains edged in oak and pine, to the outlaw paradise of Hot Springs, Arkansas—where gangsters like Al Capone line the bar at the Southern Club—the sisters’ quests for vengeance, healing, and love will drive them forward, in search of a future as transformative and powerful as the purest Strong moonshine.
Praise for Michelle Collins Anderson:
“A vivid blend of sensorial writing, historical detail, and memorable characters await on the pages of The Flower Sisters. Poignant, compelling, and surprising, here is an insightful story of the weight of long-held secrets and the resulting hunger for truth.”
—Susan Meissner, USA Today bestselling author of Only the Beautiful
"A rich and poignant tale of a small Ozarks town's factual tragedy, its generational secrets and the juxtapose of searching and belonging."
—Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek series on The Flowers Sisters
“Combined with an intriguing historical event and charismatic characters with deeply held secrets, the end result is a mesmerizing story about reconciling guilt and letting go of the past so new beginnings are possible. Anderson’s talent is undeniable and held me spellbound until the very last page.”
—Donna Everhart,author of The Saints of Swallow Hill on The Flower Sisters
“Michelle writes stories with a big heart, on family and human relationships and the inevitability of change and loss.”
—David Haynes, author of The Full Matilda
“The Flower women are wonderful creations, strong, conflicted characters.”
—Historical Novels Review --This text refers to the paperback edition.
About the Author
Michelle Collins Anderson grew up on a farm in the Missouri Ozarks — a place and a way of life that has shaped her writing. She received her MFA in Fiction from Warren Wilson College and has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri.
Her short fiction has appeared in Nimrod International Journal #37 Awards Edition, Literal Latté, Midwestern Gothic, bosque, The Lascaux Review, Pooled Ink, Literary Mama, The Green Hills Literary Lantern and The Sulphur River Literary Review. Michelle has been an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri and Stephens College, taught creative writing at her local elementary school, and serves on the board of The Missouri Review.
She and her husband have three adult children and live in a 1907 brick row house in St. Louis, Missouri, with two sister cats and a rambunctious border collie. WEBSITE
