We meet resourceful, brave 15 year old Willie on a baking hot Virginian day, as she drives her Pa’s car for the first time to fetch a doctor after his arm gets mangled in his tractor. Willie is loved deeply by her hardworking, farming family and this atmospheric story is told by both Willie and her brother Jimmy, evoking the heat, smells, nature and physicality of rural life in the 1920s. Willie wants to drive, yearns for more than the life of a farmer’s wife and hungers for adventure and speed. Set against a backdrop of prohibition, poverty and corruption, to what lengths will Willie go to remain free?

A Fast-Paced, Gritty Ride with a Few Missed Turns — *Rum Running Queen

*Rum Running Queen* barrels through the backroads of Prohibition-era Appalachia with all the speed and grit of its daring heroine, Willie Carter Sharpe. A moonshine runner turned legend, Willie’s rise from poverty to notoriety is as thrilling as it is tragic, and the novel captures the chaotic energy of a woman determined to outrun every rule designed to break her.

The book excels in atmosphere—its depiction of 1930s Virginia is vivid and alive with bootleg smoke, fast engines, and backroom deals. Willie is an undeniably compelling character: bold, sharp-tongued, and magnetic. Her stunt driving and slippery dealings add a pulse-pounding rhythm to the story’s first half, while her growing unease as the law closes in creates effective tension.

The climax—centered around the real-life Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1934—is a standout. The courtroom drama is intense and well-paced, showing just how trapped Willie has become, used and betrayed by allies on both sides of the law. Her gradual realization that fame offers no protection adds a sobering layer of complexity to her character.

That said, the novel sometimes races too quickly past emotional depth. Willie’s internal struggles—especially as she becomes a pawn in a larger game—could have used more exploration. Her relationships, romantic or otherwise, feel underdeveloped at times, which slightly mutes the impact of her eventual isolation.

Still, *Rum Running Queen* delivers a thrilling slice of historical fiction centered on a bold woman who defied expectations and carved her own path through a dangerous world. It's a high-octane story with bite, even if it occasionally speeds past its quieter moments. Fans of historical crime fiction and complex female leads will find plenty to enjoy.

A very atmospheric account of life during the depression and prohibition period. How the normal way of life for the folks in this part of America continued as best they could, with a sense of resourcefulness born out of necessity and what they did best. Within the farming communities, all had their stills, all made their own hooch and come the enforcement of taxes and bans on the selling and consumption of alcohol, traded in Moonshine.

This is a vivid account of a family, told through the eyes and experiences of two siblings, narrated alternately by Jimmy and his old sister Willie, a famous bootlegger.

I loved the sense of place and the elements of life in both plenty and want. Life was difficult but the sense of neighbourly support and goodwill comes through. Based on real people and historical events this is an important record of those times.

However, because of its telling through the fictional accounts of brother and sister it cannot provide a complete picture of the times and the wider implications for the general population. That said it does speak about the impact of the depression, the unemployment, the struggle to pay rent, the financial losses when banks failed and the growth of shanty towns of the displaced and homeless.

It is a well written piece and vital addition to this period of American history where a half forgotten recollection of “The Untouchables” fades to just a few images and sounds of Sean Connery and Kevin Costner.

A book I will return to, as it is so accessible, readable and engaging despite the dark days it reflects upon. Willie is a person the reader can identify with and her outlook on life a fine example to others. Not in terms of criminality but her values, her approach to life, a grafter, a genuine person and without a thought to blame others for her own choices and mistakes.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Black Rose Writing, and author Louella Bryant for the advanced reader copy of this book. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

The Temperance Movement is a wonderful example of the law of unintended consequences. Thinking that ridding the country of the excesses of alcohol would solve many of the country’s social problems, the era of Prohibition in the United States gave rise to organized crime. That is a fact. Instead of solving society’s ills, it gave rise to a whole bunch of new ones.

Willie Carter Sharpe was one of those who flourished during Prohibition. She came from a poor Virginia family that farmed the land and got by. That wasn’t enough for her, though. She had bigger dreams and ended up being a pilot for moonshine runners. This meant she would go out ahead of the trucks with the moonshine and make sure the road was clear, or lead police off the route. Most of the time, though, the police knew where the trucks were going and set up roadblocks. In that case, Willie’s job was to pay the police off and clear the way for the shipments. She was a natural behind the wheel, with great instincts and abilities.

The corruption existed throughout law enforcement. Many of the farmers where Willie lived supplemented their income by making moonshine. Some, like Willie’s father, just kept it for his own personal stash. Others sold it far and wide. Willie would drive as far west as Louisville and as far north as Washington, DC. The politicians who were charged with enforcing the laws often skirted them themselves.

The author states Willie was the stuff of legends when she was growing up in this area. It was fascinating that at a time when women had few rights, she stood out. Her first marriage to the son of a bootlegger was loveless, but it showed her the lifestyle. She liked having wealth. After the divorce, there’s some dispute as to whether or not she was married to Charlie Sharpe, another bootlegger. It was during this time that she was sent to prison for three years. When she returned, Charlie had found someone else.

Between 1921 and 1932, Willie was arrested 13 times. However, when looking at how much moonshine she helped move, that isn’t all that much. The final arrest, though, was what put the nail in the coffin. The only way for her to get out of going to jail for a long time was to testify for the government.

The story is narrated in the first person by both Willie and her younger brother, Jimmy. It’s not a long read, coming in at just 202 pages. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Willie is outside the norm for the times in many ways. She’s a sympathetic character in many ways, but also exasperating at times. I kept having the feeling of watching someone making decisions that I just knew weren’t going to work out well, and wanting to yell at her.

I liked how the cars of the day are described, especially the modifications made to them for use in running moonshine. The author did a great job with the setting and immersing me in the time period. Willie – Rum Running Queen is a good book about a time that can teach us many lessons. The ending isn’t exactly tragic, but it’s a bit on the sad side. Jimmy never stops loving and caring about his sister, which is quite a bond.

Author Louella Bryant has always been fascinated with the illegal bootleg business during the Prohibition era. This has led her to bring the history to life in her captivating historical novel, "Willie – Rum Running Queen", which is based on the true story of Willie Carter Sharpe.

Willie, who was born in 1903, worked on the family farm alongside her father and younger brother. And she was good at it. However, when she became a teen, her main passion was driving fast. As she became of age and married into a family of bootleggers, that love would be incorporated into the perfect job, with the ability to make lots of money. This was piloting bootleg runs, acting as a decoy for the actual vehicle that was transporting the liquor. Though the marriage didn’t last, her skill did. In fact, eventually she would be targeted by the law in every county in Virginia, West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. Finally in the courtroom she had to decide whether to turn state’s evidence, a dangerous choice either way.

Bryant takes us through the Prohibition and Depression eras, painting the often dark and desperate mood of the time. As the book switches between the perspectives of herself and her younger brother, it adds further depth to the plot. Beyond the car chases, she also portrays a more vulnerable side of Willie, and the hurt that comes with love and subsequent betrayal.

Before reading "Willie – Rum Running Queen", I was unfamiliar with Willie Carter Sharp. However, Bryant’s engaging storytelling makes her life not only accessible but quite engaging.

From the first paragraph, I was transfixed by the voice in Louella Bryant’s page-turning historical story of the Rum Running Queen herself: Willie Carter Sharpe, whose hardscrabble life in the southwest Virginia hills led her to riches in the only career she was destined to perfect. As a “pilot” (a decoy driver) for the souped-up Model-Ts hauling moonshine from Virginia to the surrounding states, the real-life Willie was already a teen-age natural at motor skills attributed to boys. Driving fast was her passion, and running moonshine gave Willie the opportunity to do it. In Bryant’s colorful recreation, Willie, Rum Running Queen, Willie is as wily as she was witty. By the court’s account when Willie testified at the Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1934 for tax evasion, she’d hauled two hundred thousand untaxed gallons herself. In her short career evading cops during Prohibition, Willie lived large and left a mostly forgotten mark until Bryant revived her colorful life with animated writing, bringing us the sounds and smells and sights of rural Virginia moonshine-making, a way of life for generations. I devoured Willie in one day, near as quick as she ran shine over the hills.

A great researched story of running moonshine during the depression. It was both serious and fun to read. Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read this ARC. The review is my own.