Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Published: August 3, 2021

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Source: Hardcover Public Library Book

Available Format: Digital, Audio, Hardcover, and Paperback

My Review: Oh, what an emotional, romantic read. I love reading historical fiction and you add some good romance and I am all googly-eyed. This was not your typical Sandra Brown book and that made it all the better. It was a perfect palate cleanser.

I learned more about Prohibition than ever. I did not know Texas was a big moonshine state. I always associated it with Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. I’ve never had an interest in trying moonshine but after reading Laurel’s story maybe I’ll take a sip one day.

There is a lot of cursing but it goes with the atmosphere of the era. A couple of steamy sex scenes but if you read Sandra Brown then you expect this. I would have been disappointed if it wasn’t present.

A must-read for all Sandra Brown fans.

From Goodreads: The year 1920 comes in with a roar in this rousing and suspenseful novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown. Prohibition is the new law of the land, but murder, mayhem, lust, and greed are already institutions in the Moonshine Capitol of Texas.

Thatcher Hutton, a war-weary soldier on the way back to his cowboy life, jumps from a moving freight train to avoid trouble . . . and lands in more than he bargained for. On the day he arrives in Foley, Texas, a local woman goes missing. Thatcher, the only stranger in town, is suspected of her abduction, and worse. Standing between him and exoneration are a corrupt mayor, a crooked sheriff, a notorious cathouse madam, a sly bootlegger, feuding moonshiners . . . and a young widow whose soft features conceal an iron will.

What was supposed to be a fresh start for Laurel Plummer turns to tragedy. Left destitute but determined to dictate her own future, Laurel plunges into the lucrative regional industry, much to the dislike of the good ol’ boys, who have ruled supreme. Her success quickly makes her a target for cutthroat competitors, whose only code of law is reprisal. As violence erupts, Laurel and—now deputy—Thatcher find themselves on opposite sides of a moonshine war, where blood flows as freely as whiskey.